This is thought to be one of the oldest houses in Havre de Grace and is one of the few that survived the burning of the town by the British in May 1813. Jean Baptiste Aveilhe, from Charleston, South Carolina, bought five lots on Union Avenue from Green Street to Franklin Street in 1801 from James White Hall and his wife, Sarah White Hall (who had inherited it from her father). Jean Baptiste Aveilhe was 24 years old at the time, was an inventor with three patents to his credit, and was a prominent member of both the Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, Free Masons. He contracted with local craftsmen to build this house. The hipped, slate roof, with a steep concave curve rising to a peak is the most outstanding architectural feature of this French-influenced house. Two years later Aveilhe sold the land and house to John Marche of Baltimore—it is thought that the reason he sold the property so quickly was that claims against him for outstanding building materials and labor had been filed in court. Other evidence of Aveilhe’s need for money was this notice that appeared in the Federal Gazette, April 29, 1803:
“John Baptiste Aveilhe of Havre de Grace invented a horizontal windmill suitable for grinding corn, tobacco, and plaster; a model is on view at Federal Hill and for sale by Mr. Marche at 4 South Gay Street, Baltimore.”

John Marche owned this and the other houses through the War of 1812. When the British attacked Havre de Grace in May 1813, a cannonball flew into the top left corner of the front wall of the house, no doubt terrifying the occupants but they and the house survived. A black wrought iron ring on the exterior wall over the ball marks its location now. And a cedar shake roof is thought to have burned also, replaced by the present slate roof.

In 1816, John Marche sold the five lots, including houses, to Howes Goldsborough (1790-1841) and his wife Mary Rodgers Goldsborough. Howes was a prosperous merchant, city commissioner, and ship owner (the sloop General Jackson), and had just been appointed in 1814 by President James Madison as Collector of Customs for Havre de Grace. And Mary Goldsborough was the daughter of Commodore John Rodgers, the Revolutionary War veteran. The Goldsborough family lived here through the death of Howes in 1841 and until 1855 when Mary Goldsborough sold the properties to Robert L. Morgan (1819-1878) and his wife, Elizabeth Morgan of Halls Cross Roads (east of Aberdeen), of which he was Postmaster in 1859. The five lots on the west side of Union Avenue between Green and Franklin Streets now contain this Aveilhe House, the old Post Office building at #308, an apartment building at #314-316; the Wright-Henry House at #322; and an empty store at #324.

The Morgans sold three of the five properties in 1865 to Elizabeth Green, Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of John Green of Baltimore City. John Edward Larkin (1831-1891) was the next owner in 1875. He was a very accomplished architect who designed the Vosbury House on South Union Avenue and an excellent railroad engineer with the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. In his November 1883 Will, Larkin devised to his “friend, Edward C. Kenly of this city,” this house and lot at the corner of Union Avenue and Green Street. Edward and Corrie Kenly sold the house in 1891 to James Acton Larkin. Kenly was struck and killed by a train in 1909 while working as a bridge carpenter for the PW&B Railroad.

By 1903 the property was owned by Alice Hall Smith (1851-1933), the wife of Dr. Richard H. Smith, both of whom lived directly across the street at 301 North Union Avenue (now gone). Dr. Smith also was President of the Columbian Building Association for many years. Their daughter, Helen T. Smith inherited this property also and owned it until 1945 when she sold it. Because she also had continued to live at 301 North Union Avenue until her death in 1957, it is assumed that she rented this property from 1903 until 1945.

In 1945, Helen Smith sold this to Fred and Ann Richardson; J. Roswell Poplar (1901-1987), and his wife, Myrtle, were the next owners who lived here from 1948 until 1964. They had a son, J. Roswell Poplar, Jr. who was a local attorney who died at the age of 52. In 1966 this property was sold by The Maryland Company to Cornelius J. "CJ" Smith (1918-2003) and Helen C. Smith (not related to the previous Smith owners). The President of The Maryland Company was Omer L. Carson who, with his wife, Catherine, invested in real estate and was the father of local attorney Robert L. Carson. While Cornelius and Helen Smith also were real estate investors, they lived in this home and had three children, Joan Elaine Powell, Ann Williams, and Cornelius J. Smith, Jr. Their son was a graduate of the 1965 class of the Havre de Grace Consolidated School, the last class to graduate from that Oakington Road school.

Ten years after buying this home, the Smiths opened it to the 1976 Annual Candlelight Tour. The walls were of brick but covered with stucco. A two-story service wing and a free-standing original brick smokehouse were in the rear. The westerly room in the rear wing, along Green Street, was the original kitchen and had a massive fireplace designed for cooking, and a simple mantel shelf with a rounded edge. This was a recreation room with beamed ceiling and it had a basement under it. Hand-wrought nails, many associated with French blacksmithing, were found to have been used in the attic.

The house is distinguished by its crisp color, white stucco with green trim; and by its shape, square with a flared hip roof and central chimney. Other special features, such as the double-louvered shutters over the doorway, scalloped design near the roof, and keystone over each window are reminiscent of the French architecture in Charleston, South Carolina. The three-bay one-story front porch was a later addition.

There is a smokehouse at the north side of the property that is believed to be the only outbuilding of this type left in town. It is MIHP HA-789:
“Stucco-covered brick outbuilding about 8 feet square with an A roof of slate the ridgeline running north-south. A door on the south side leads to an otherwise unlighted chamber with draining-patterned vents for the smoke. A household utility building, usually agricultural, for smoking meats.”

Forty years later, in 2006, the Smiths sold the home to Justin and Susan Dixon. They loved the history of Havre de Grace and got married by the Lighthouse. They worked hard to restore the home to its former glory as a result of which they received an award from the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission in 2011. In February 2012, however, Susan lay down to take a nap and, sadly, never woke again. Justin continues to own and live in the house and the historic smokehouse continues to be the only one left in the town.

County Records
Built 1810. 3284 sq ft, 2.5 stories with basement, 2.5 baths, 5280 sq ft lot.