A 208-year-old, handsome brick Federal Style house stands on the south side of West Salisbury Street on original lot 84 next to the Post Office. The old home is two and a half stories tall and three bays wide, with a massive chimney crowning the roof on the eastern wall. The home has Flemish Bond brickwork on the facade and Common or American Bond brickwork at the sides, typical for the larger, more stylish brick houses built in Williamsport before 1850. Large brick jack arches crown the openings, with the front door in the western bay topped with a Victorian transom (small window above the door), which replaced the more intricate federal one long ago. A one-bay, one-story porch shelters this door, but likely no porch was present when the house was built in 1816. A one-story brick ell with covered porches on both sides protrudes from the back of the house, initially used as a kitchen. The original federal staircase, random-width pine floors, and moldings remain on the interior. The property retains the intact, original 66x195 lot with just one house, which is relatively rare.
Catherine Sarah Baker leased lot 84 from the Williams Family in October 1815 for the standard terms and the stipulation of building a home within three years. Catherine Baker (1766-1845) was born in either North Carolina or Virginia; by 1815, she was a widow, nearly 50 years old, having some children grown and some still at home. It is still being determined when the Bakers came to Williamsport from Virginia, but it must have been about 1815, as that is when they first invested in real estate here. Catherine needed a home for herself and her unwed children, so she began constructing the large brick house immediately or perhaps the following spring. Catherine, or "Sarah," as she preferred, was a woman of considerable means; her husband's family were the prominent Bakers of Winchester, Frederick County, VA, wealthy plantation owners.
She purchased and developed two lots with brick houses; she also had several slaves whose names are sadly lost to time but are mentioned in her will. As discussed above, Catherine also leased lot 88 along Conococheage Street in 1815, which she built on and sold to her son John and his wife Mary a few years later for a small sum and the love and affection of a mother. You can read more about the history of lot 88, the beautiful house, and its inhabitants in an article posted on this page from July 6, 2022, and in the Architecture of Williamsport section of the Williamsport Area Historical Association at the following link. Williamsport Area Historical Association - Conococheague 14 S (myportfolio.com) John Baker became the second mayor of Williamsport, serving from 1830-1831; more about him can be learned from the article above.
John sold his mother's house to the Reverand Robert Wilson (1788-1849) and his wife Ellen(or) Wilson (1786-1863) in 1846 for exactly what the appraisal in her estate inventory stated it was worth: $900. The Wilsons hailed from Dunmore, Virginia, now West Virginia, west of Staunton across the Blue Ridge. Reverand Wilson preached at the Methodist Church (est. 1801) in Williamsport; he may have been the first minister in the new (1840s) brick church still on E. Church Street. His family was very devout, and at least one other brother was also a minister, settling in the 1830s in Texas. Ellenor lived at the house until she died in 1863.
The house would change hands several more times throughout the next half a century, with ownership belonging to the Elliott, McCoy, Lemen, and Byron's, all longtime families of the town. The Byron's sold the house to Charles and Mabel Rowe in 1936. Charles was a native of Williamsport, a WW1 Veteran who worked at Potomac Edison at the R. Paul Smith Station here in Williamsport (now abandoned) for over thirty years. Mabel was from the Shumakers of Sharpburg.
The house changed hands a few times after it left the Rowe/Shumaker family until Port 44, a women-owned real estate development company local to Williamsport, purchased it in 2022. Port 44 renovated the historic property, keeping its period charm but updating it for the current use as the law offices for Kuczynski & Kucyznski. A few updates include fresh paint, a new HVAC system, landscaping, a garden, newly paved parking in the back, and a modern kitchen. Port 44 has renovated several buildings in town and continues to expend significant energy into the revitalization of Williamsport. This Williamsport resident thanks them and holds great hope for this town's future. Our historic architectural treasures are essential and should be protected and preserved for future generations.
