This was the second location of the “Pennington and Son—Funeral Directors and Embalmers,” who advertised that they were “never closed.” Their first location was 522 St. Clair Street (now Pennington Avenue), where they had been since 1817 and moved here in 1913. Overall, their funeral business was operated by five generations of the Pennington family, beginning with William Canby Pennington (1797-1851).

This Pennington House was purchased by Mary Pennington in 1913, wife of George T. Pennington (1871-1947) who was Mayor of Havre de Grace from 1923-1936. The one-story building behind this house (and facing Fountain Street) was where funeral parlor business was conducted and most likely was built by the Penningtons. This Washington Street address includes all the land and buildings running east to Strawberry Lane.

The property transferred to several different Pennington family members over the years. The last Pennington to own it was Mary Lou Pennington (widow of G. Robert Pennington, Jr.), who sold it in 1982 to Arnold W. and Yvonne Beard, who operated the Arnold W. Beard Funeral Service on Lewis Street. Ownership reverted to Mary Lou Pennington in 1987 and she sold it again to Joseph and Barbara Ayres. This home (now divided into two apartments) and the funeral parlor building have been rental properties since then. The building facing Fountain Street most recently was the home of the Sweet Pea Society Learning Center but has been unoccupied since that closed.

The Ayres deeded this property to their daughter, Kathleen Guzzo, and granddaughter, Kathleen Griffin, in 2004. Both of these buildings and property are now owned by Mary Kathleen Guzzo, a/k/a Kathleen Guzzo and Kathleen Griffin. Kathleen Guzzo also owns other rental properties in Havre de Grace.

County Records
Built 1880. 6512 sq ft, commercial, 2 stories, no basement, 2 baths, 12,000 sq ft lot.