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3rd Fridays Dowtown

Historic Newtown Walking Tour

117 Elizabeth St. Salisbury’s oldest house; begun by Major Levin Handy and finished by Dr. John Huston. Interior exhibits cover early medicine, farming, and enslaved life. Open for tours—check site for hours.

Construction & Early Ownership:
The property originated from a 357-acre tract called Pemberton’s Good Will, acquired by Major Levin Handy in 1795. He began building the house in the Federal style, but due to financial troubles and health issues, construction halted by 1803

Completion by Dr. Huston:
In 1805, Dr. John D. Huston, Salisbury’s first surgeon, purchased and completed the mansion. After his death in 1828, the estate included farmland, livestock, and 18 enslaved people

Poplar Hill Name: In the mid-1800s, the mansion became known as Poplar Hill due to its drive lined with Lombardy poplars—thus earning the name Poplar Hill Mansion

Historic Recognition: Poplar Hill Mansion was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on October 7, 1971

200 E. William St. Late Second Empire residence built for Thomas Cooper, editor of the Salisbury Advertiser. A textbook mansard-roof showpiece within Newtown.

Construction & Early Ownership:
Built around 1880, the home initially belonged elsewhere but became tied to Thomas Perry—an educator, publisher, financier, and civic leader who lived here from 1897 to 1950.

Architectural Highlights;
The Perry‑Cooper House is a three-story wood-frame residence crowned by an elegant Second Empire (French Mansard) roof, recognized as the only surviving example of its kind in Salisbury.

Owner Significance: Thomas Perry served as Wicomico County’s Superintendent of Schools (1880–1892). He purchased and built The Advertiser into the largest weekly paper on the Delmarva Peninsula (starting 1884) and helped found the Salisbury Permanent Building and Loan Association to support community rebuilding after the devastating 1886 fire.

Historic Recognition:In 1977, the Perry‑Cooper House was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

325 N. Division Street, the house is attributed to the physician Dr. Cathell Humphreys and his wife Isabella Huston of Poplar Hill. It is a fine example of mid‑19th-century Greek Revival design, possibly with Italianate influences.

Owner Significance:
Dr. Cathell Humphreys was part of a prominent Salisbury medical and entrepreneurial family. His brother, Humphrey Humphreys, operated a successful lumber and milling business. In 1863, he entered a business partnership—Humphreys & Tilghman—with his brother Humphrey Humphreys and William B. Tilghman, dealing in agricultural supplies like fertilizer (imported guano), lumber, and coal.

Mrs Herold’s School: Originally built in the 1850s, the building was later adapted for educational use and became widely known in the community as “Mrs. Herold’s School”. This reflects a significant chapter in the building’s history, transitioning from a private residence to a local institution of learning

315 N. Division St. A “house within a house”: an 1828 Federal rear wing (the Thomas Hooper house) joined to an 1897 Queen Anne front commissioned by foundry owner Robert D. Grier.

Construction & Ownership:
An unusually layered residence: a c. 1828 Federal house (the original “Thomas Hooper House”) was moved on the lot and attached as the rear wing when a new Queen Anne front block was built in 1897 for industrialist Robert D. Grier. Contractor W. J. Johnson executed the 1897 work.

Original house (rear wing today): ca. 1828 Federal, center-hall plan, ordered by Thomas Hooper on a parcel of “Pemberton’s Good Will.” The Federal cornice is richly carved (guilloche, swag and bell-flower motifs).

1897 campaign: Grier purchased the old Hooper property in April 1897 and commissioned Johnson to reposition the 1828 house as a rear wing and erect a new Queen Anne main block facing N. Division St. Contemporary press noted the project that summer..

Historic Recognition:The house is recorded in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.

501 N. Division St. The Frederick A. Grier Sr. House at 501 N. Division St. is a landmark Queen Anne residence built in 1897 on a highly visible corner lot.

Construction & Ownership:
The property at 501 N. Division Street was acquired in 1897 by R. D. Grier, a local foundry owner. He purchased an existing dwelling and commissioned a Salisbury-based builder to significantly remodel or replace it—creating the home now identified with his son, Frederick A. Grier, Sr.

Beloved Local Figures: Frederick A. Grier Sr. wasn’t just a homeowner—he hailed from the Grier family, deeply rooted in Salisbury’s public service. He and his father, Robert D. Grier, were influential within the city’s fire department. The elder Grier helped lay the foundation for modern fire safety, while Fred A. Grier Jr. later became Fire Chief and a pioneering local fire marshal.

Connection to Gillis-Grier House: When Mamie Gillis married Fred Grier Jr. in the early 1900’s, they moved in to the Gillis house, which took on the name, Gillis-Grier House.