The land on which this home was later built, along with four adjoining lots, had been acquired by William A. Bailey (1816-1873) from his father, Asahel Bailey, and other Bailey family members as early as 1858. William Bailey’s heirs, through court trustees, sold the land in 1906 to an agent for David A. Fisher. Each lot fronted 60 feet on the east side of Washington Street running back 200 feet to Strawberry Lane.

In 1913, David A. Fisher and Mary K. Fisher sold two of the five lots (#396 and #406) to William F. Day (1865-1934) and Mary H. Day (d. 1942). Six years later, the Days sold the adjoining Lot #396 to their son, Willard H. Day and his wife, Blanche P. Day, who built their home at 617 South Washington Street. It is estimated that William and Mary Day built this home on the northeast corner of Alliance and South Washington Streets soon after acquiring the land in 1913.

This house most likely was a Sears Roebuck Model Kit Home. A standard Sears Catalog Home Kit contained around 25 tons of materials, more than 30,000 parts, 750 lbs of nails, along with a 75-page instruction book that were shipped directly to the purchaser. The 370 different designs were only offered in Sears mail order catalogs between 1908 and 1940. Sears houses built after 1916 have stamped lumber elements that can be found in attics or basements. Pictures of some models are listed online at: http://arts-crafts.com/archive/sears/, but many homes have since been modified. Between 1908 and 1940 Sears sold about 75,000 homes with 370 different designs by mail order in all 48 states, including several in Havre de Grace (due to the convenience of the railroad).

William and Mary Day lived here through the death of William Day in 1934 and then Mary’s death in 1942, when Mary’s Will conveyed this home to their son, Willard Day and his wife, Blanche, who already were living next door at 617 South Washington Street. They owned this through the death of Willard Day in 1946 followed by Blanche Day’s relocation to North Carolina (although she continued to own the house). Pat Allingham says it was the first house they lived in when they moved to Havre de Grace in 1956; Jim Rudolph and Cyndy Hartsfield also say they lived here in the 1950s. And Karen Fenner remembers that her sister, Alice H. Jobes (1938-1991), enjoyed living here with her three sons, Harry, Charles and Joseph Jobes, of the well-known duck decoy carving family in the 1970s. Blanche Day obviously rented the home out after moving to North Carolina.

Upon Blanche’s death in 1974, her three children sold the home to Charles E. and Martha Davis. Their son, also named Charles Davis, remembers living there in 1975-1976 when his Dad remodeled the entire house and enclosed the back porch. He says his Dad built a driveway and carport at the back of the house but the next owner removed it. The most unique aspect of this house is that it is entirely covered with fish-scale shingles but it’s not known when this was done.

In 1977, before moving to Florida, Charles and Martha Davis sold the home to Captain Phillip L. Brown, a decorated veteran, and Georgia Brown, his wife. At some point later Georgia Brown left the home and relocated elsewhere and Phillip Brown continued living here. Over the years, maintenance of the exterior of the home had been declining, as had Brown’s health, and in 2018 Phillip Brown died. Authorities could not locate any family members for Captain Brown, who was a US Army and Vietnam War veteran, and when that became public hundreds of people showed up for his burial at the Baltimore National Cemetery. During his Army service, Captain Phillip Brown earned the combat infantryman badge, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, six air medals and two Army commendation medals.

The City of Havre de Grace searched diligently for some next of kin over the next several months so that ownership of the property could be resolved and they finally located Captain Brown’s former wife. Because her name was also still on the property deed, she technically became the owner of this property. She died, however, before taking ownership; it became part of her estate. Due to the legalities involved the house remained empty, neglected, and boarded up against sunshine and life.

Wonderful news in December 2020 was that this historical home on its large lot had been bought by Mary Main Jones and her husband, Michael W. Jones. They will be relocating to Havre de Grace and have hired an interior designer to plan the full-gut renovation and redesign and also construct a large two-story addition and double garage to meet their needs. Locals who have followed the history of this corner house hoped that it would retain some its original Sears-design appearance and perhaps some its spectacular fish-scale shingles; but word-on-the-corner is negative as construction continues.

County Records
Built 1940. 1728 sq ft, 1.5 stories with basement, 1.5 baths, 6000 sq ft lot.