A house previously on this lot is where Casper Smith (1839-1881) lived with his wife and children in the mid-1800s. Born in Ireland, Smith was only 22 years old when he signed up to serve in the Civil War. He was a member of Company H, one of the two companies of the Union Regiment that was made up primarily of men from Harford County. After returning from the war, Casper received his Civil War pension at this address and he became a captain for hire. He accepted a commission offered by Captain John A. Wilson to take his schooner Shelldrake to Baltimore on Christmas Eve 1881. The vessel was fully loaded with a cargo of guano and a deckhand named Richard Moore.A few days later, the Shelldrake’s owner, Captain John S. Wilson, saw Moore back in town but the Shelldrake was not back. Moore made some contradictory statements to Captain Wilson about the location of the schooner so the Captain went to Baltimore. He found the vessel with a murdered Casper in the cabin. The newspaper contained the gory details; suffice it to say that the house in this location was where his widow, Mary Elizabeth Smith, and her six children were left destitute. Captain Smith’s body was buried in the now overgrown and severely neglected cemetery known as Cedar Hill Cemetery in the north end of Havre de Grace. The widowed Mary Smith married William Green later in 1882. However, in December 1883, after visiting some saloons in Baltimore, William Green fell into the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal and drowned, once more leaving Mary widowed.

This parcel of two lots on the northwestern corner of Green and North Stokes Streets was owned by Henry and Caroline Gier when Henry died in 1905. It is assumed that the previous home on the lot in 1882 had been demolished. Upon Henry’s death, Caroline deeded the property to her son, Charles F. Bauer, on October 18, 1905. The following day, Charles Bauer sold the lots to Isaac Hecht (1864-1913) who had built the Hecht Hotel at 667 Green Street in 1890, with his wife, Elizabeth Weiss Hecht.

It appears that Charles Bauer may have felt like celebrating the property sale with a trip to Baltimore the following week. The Aegis & Intelligencer of October 27, 1905, carried a news item of a “sightseeing trip” to Baltimore taken by Charles F. Bauer of Havre de Grace during which he “strolled into a saloon on South Regester Street. In his pocket was nearly $1,000 and he began to spend it. Several women gathered about him. . .” Bauer soon rushed outside the saloon and told a police sergeant that he had been robbed. Three women later were jailed and Bauer told the magistrate during a hearing that he would never again “try to see the sights of the city.” He then left the hearing with his wife, Catherine.

Meanwhile, Isaac and Elizabeth Hecht built this large brick home for their growing family. They had two young sons, Lee Isaac Hecht (1888-1957) and Lawrence W. Hecht (1899-1947). When first designed, this most likely was a single family home; however, as can be seen from photographs, there are now two entrances, and additions to the rear on both sides of the structure appear to have been made over the years. After the tragic suicide of Isaac in 1913 at the age of 48, his widow Elizabeth and their two sons continued to live here through Lawrence’s marriage to Florence Hecht and Elizabeth’s death in 1928. By then, Lee Isaac Hecht had married Miriam and were living elsewhere but this continued to be the home of Lawrence and Florence, where they raised their daughter, Elizabeth Hecht Goodman. There were other Hecht family members living nearby who were prominent in the business of the city.

When Isaac Hecht died in 1913, he provided in his Will a life estate for his widow, Elizabeth, with all of his estate to go to their two sons upon her death. As a result, in 1931 this home was deeded to Lawrence and Florence Hecht. Lawrence was a lawyer and practiced with his brother, Lee, in their firm in Baltimore; Lawrence also served in 1941 as City Attorney for Havre de Grace. But Lawrence died suddenly in 1947 at the age of 47 while visiting California, leaving Florence as the owner of this home. Three years later, at the age of 55, Florence married the well-known Frederick Lee Cobourn (1885-1962), a widower, former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and Judge in the Third Judicial Circuit.

This home continued to be owned by Florence Hecht Cobourn but it is thought that from 1950 forward this became a rental property while she and the Judge may have lived elsewhere until his 1962 death. Local dentist, Dr. Richard Grubb, recalls that during The Graw racetrack days his grandparents lived in 603 Green Street and used to rent rooms to jockeys. He also says that they were good friends with “Joe” and Sarah Jefferson, who ran the small grocery store across the street at 602 Green Street (before they had to move to Fountain Street). Richard remembers that Joe made his own sandwich meats and sausage and looked like the “typical butcher—bald, with what looked like a penciled-in mustache.”

Florence Cobourn sold this property in 1967 to Henry J. Loeblein (1912-1991) and his wife, Eleanor S. Loeblein. Henry served as Mayor of Havre de Grace from 1965 through 1972 and was a successful businessman and property owner. Two years later, the Loebleins sold the property to the Babcar Company, owned by Lambert Babec and Dr. John Carriere, real estate investors.

In 1969, the Babcar Company sold this to Alvin Steiner Keen (1936-2018) and his wife, Dorothy M. Keen who owned the property until 1975 (it is not known if they also lived there). This large rental property with several units has been owned by William D. and Phyllis Anne Bowman since 1975 (and may have been a rental property for 25 years before that). The Bowmans created and own Carsins Run Properties LLC, a real estate enterprise, which is now the title owner.

County Records
Built 1920. 3498 sq ft, 2.5 stories with basement, brick, apartments.