Harford House Hotel - Havre de Grace, MD - Famous Fires on Waymarking.com

Taken from the website, "The original Harford House was a major hotel during the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal era (c. 1840-1902) when passengers arriving in town on barges would stay overnight at the intersection of North Union Avenue and St. John Street, where the roads split. It was one of three hotels listed in the 1878 Maryland Directory and owned by Emily M. Reasin (1816-1885 and wife of Samuel H. Reasin). The hotel appears on the 1885 Sanborn Insurance Map and several subsequent ones. In 1874 they replaced the roof with a third-story mansard roof to allow for more hotel rooms (people were taxed on the number of stories they had but mansard roofs, even with windows, were considered roofs and not stories).

“Victorian Trade Cards” were popular in the late 1800s to advertise a business—about the size of a postcard they usually were printed front and back. Some amusing ones are still available for collectors, some involving Havre de Grace businesses.

Harford House was run by Francis J. Boyd (1831-1902) in the 1880s but after his death it was taken over by his widow, Missouri Boyd (1842-1923) and their son, Frank B. Boyd. In 1907, the hotel underwent extensive improvements including a brick extension built on the north end, an increased porch capacity, and a “heating apparatus” was installed. When Missouri died at the age of 81 her funeral was held at the Harford House. She was known to most of Havre de Grace as “Mother Boyd.” According to her obituary, she was “one of the best known and most esteemed women in the city.”

In 1926 the Harford House was bought by James H. Robinson, who also was the proprietor of the Lafayette 425 North Union Avenue Holdings, LLC. The Harford House featured prominently in one story of Prohibition days in Havre de Grace, when the city was known as a popular underground market for liquor, and bootleggers were many. During one raid in 1924 by the National Dry Agency undercover officer, Joseph Furbershaw, he placed John A. Buongore under arrest at the Harford House for the sale of corn whiskey. After being arrested, Buongore tried to escape by running down St. John Street, whereupon Furbershaw drew his pistol and shot Buongore. As Buongore’s dead body lay on the street in broad daylight, a crowd of locals formed demanding that Furbershaw be arrested. Consequently, the dry agent was charged for the murder of John Buongore. Although a few days later a coroner’s jury found the shooting to be “brutal and inhumane,” the Furbershaw agent was eventually acquitted at trial of any wrongdoing.

In 1938 the Harford House suffered a fatal fire and closed down. However, in 1943 James Carroll Vancherie (1898-1972) and his wife, Jessie, bought it from Michael H. Fahey’s estate and demolished its remains. They rebuilt it as apartments called Vancherie’s Harford House, which is shown on the 1955 addition to the 1930 Sanford Insurance Map. Dr. Henry Otto Winter, Jr. had his chiropractic office in the building for about 30 years. He was President of the Maryland Chiropractors Association that held its 1957 convention in the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore. And in the 1960s, Dr. Winter served as Editor of The Record in Harford County.

In 1972 James Sr. and Jessie Vancherie added their son, James C. Vancherie, Jr. (1923-2013) and his wife, Gussie, as well as their son, James C. Vancherie III, to the deed and continued to rent the apartments. However, James Sr. and Jessie having died, James Jr. and Gussie sold the property in 2002 to The Old Chesapeake Hotel, LLC, to use as overflow from their hotel at 400 North Union Avenue. In 2009, The Old Chesapeake Hotel sold this property to 425 North Union Avenue Holdings, LLC. Ten years later, this apartment property was bought by Allen J. Fair, a local realtor, for whom this continues to be an investment property with rental units.

County Records
Built 1945. 4032 sq ft, multiple residence/apartments, 2954 sq ft lot."

Type of Structure: Private Building Other: N/A Construction Date: 01/01/1945 Fire Date: 01/01/1938 Structure status: Gutted building Cause of Fire: Unknown Documentation of the fire: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Give a narrative of your experience. Did you learn anything after reading about the fire in the waymark? Photos are always welcome too. Please no virtual visits.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.