City of Havre de Grace Unveils Livery Stables Replica

R. Madison "Mitch" Mitchell uncovered a replica of a 19th-century livery stable at Monday night's City Council meeting that the city asked him to handcraft as a way of preserving a piece of Havre de Grace history.

Recently, the Cameron-Currier Livery Stables was demolished on Franklin at Stokes streets.

"It wasn’t long ago that a demolition permit was issued" to a developer, Mayor Wayne Dougherty said at the Nov. 18 council meeting.

Instead of saving it—a cost which Dougherty said would be "overwhelming"—the city determined it would replicate the property in miniature.

The mayor and Councilman Bill Martin (liaison to the historic preservation commission) asked Mitchell, who is a celebrated decoy maker and, as the mayor put it, "model maker extraordinaire," to recreate the structure.

Mitchell rose to the challenge. All of the miniature creation is made from pieces of the original building, with the exception of the roof.

It was a "nondescript building [that] didn't look like it was anything special—but it really was," Kathy Keen of the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission said at the council meeting.

"It was where the Susquehanna Hose Company [had] their first location when fire engines were pulled by horses—that's where the horses were kept," Keen said. "They were kept on the second floor, which I thought was unusual."

The city kept its horses in the livery, and when automobiles became the major means of transportation, the property later became a service station, according to the Maryland Historical Trust.

"This is really important history for the city of Havre de Grace, for the Currier family, for the Hose Company," Dianne Klair, city planner, said. It was a hub of mercantile activity, she added, noting to Mitchell: "You’ve captured the essence of this building in this model."

The model will be on display in early December in the Masonic Temple on North Washington Street and will be moved to the Havre de Grace Visitor Center on Pennington Avenue after the holidays.