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There are some published sources that state a date of 1797 for the initial construction of the Gate House by Littleton Dennis Teackle. However, a more accepted timeframe is when the Teackle Mansion was being constructed starting in 1802 to 1804-05.
A pair of frame houses were constructed on the north and south corners of Prince William Street and Low Alley (today know as Beckford Avenue). They were used as servant quarters or tenements for the estate of Littleton Dennis Teackle, and they marked the formal entrance to the most lavish property known to exist on the Lower Eastern Shore known as "Teackletonia".
A high iron fence with a beautiful gate once marked the division between the Teackle estate and the town of Princess Anne, and inside the gate were the two tenements reportedly with Teackle’s gardener living in one while the gatekeeper lived in the other.
Upon Mr. Teackle's death in 1848, the estate was sold and there was a long chain of ownership of the South Gate House. Some were short-term real estate transactions, transfers to heirs within families, absentee landlords, and a handful of actual long-term residents.
We now refer to the property as the South Teackle Gate House. It has had several addresses over the years - 217 Prince William Street, 102 Prince William Street. and currently 30467 Prince William Street. Somerset County Historical Trust purchased this historic property in June 2024 and is currently doing extensive renovations.
For more detailed information on the property, including deeds for the property transfers, you can access the SCHPA - Somerset County Historical Property Archive - hosted by the Nabb Center. The property number is S-95.
1986 photo of South Gate House on southeast corner of Prince William Street and Beckford Avenue
(30467 Prince William Street)
current owner: Somerset County Historical Trust
credit: Paul Touart
1984 photo of North Gate House (also known as Gallaher House) on northeast corner of Prince William Street and Beckford Avenue
(30466 Prince William Street)
current owner: Warner Sumpter
credit: Paul Touart
Open the down arrow to the right of each item to view details
Littleton Dennis Teackle constructed two twin 'tenement' houses at the same time of construction of the Teackle Mansion (known then as Teackletonia). They stood on the east edge of the property and part of the main entrance with an elaborate iron gate between the two houses.
DESCRIBE THE CHANGES OF OWNERSHIP DURING TEACKLE'S TIME PRIOR TO HIS DEATH IN 1848.
On 8 Nov 1848 Littleton Dennis Teackle sold the two tenements he had been occupying with his servants George Tilghman, Milchy Gray, Ann Handy, Sally Hyland, and James Curtis. It was sold in Baltimore to John H. King and Edward M. Wise for $100.
On 21 Nov 1848 that sale of the two tenements was then recorded in the Somerset County Courthouse (Liber 3, Folio 294).
On 14 April 1849, John H, King & and his wife Charlotte & Edward M. Wise & his wife Harriet sold the property to George W. Dashiell for $255.
On the same day of 14 April 1849 George W. Dashiell sold the property to William Lecates for $361. William Lecates then owned the property for 14 years from 1849 to 1863, and he and his family probably lived in the house while his house next door at 229 [now 30459] Prince William Street (S-6) was under construction in 1852 and 1853. Assuming that he and his family moved from the South Gatehouse to their new house in 1853, it is not known who may have lived in the South Gatehouse for the ten years from 1853 until he sold the South Gatehouse in 1863.
On 5 June 1863, Levin T. H. Irving (trustee related to an equity case between William Lecates and Robert W. Dougherty) sold to Abraham Kemper and Seligman Hulbrun.
On 8 April 1864, Abraham Kemper and wife Lena sold the property to Thomas James Dixon, after owning it for only 10 months. Abraham Kemper and his family then moved to Baltimore by 1870, where they remained.
Thomas J. Dixon may have lived in the South Gatehouse for the period of April 1864 to October 1866 when he owned it, or he may have rented it to someone as the landlord. He was a successful merchant, invested in real estate, was the Sheriff of Somerset County [in 1870], and President of the Savings Bank of Somerset County.
On 27 October 1866, Thomas J. Dixon sold the South Gatehouse to Levin Thomas Handy Irving. Presumably Levin T. H. Irving and his wife Florence lived in the South Gatehouse from October 1866 to March 1869.
On 8 March 1869, Levin T. H. Irving & his wife Florence sold the property to Greenville Graham Gardener and his wife Sallie Wailes Dashiell. Per the 1870 Census, Greenville G. Gardener and his family were living in the South Gatehouse.
On 21 September 1872 Grenville Gardener and his wife Sallie Gardner sold the property back to Levin T. H. Irving. About three months later, Levin Irving then sold the property on 2 January 1873 to Thomas J. Dixon (who had also previously owned the property).
Thomas J. Dixon then owned the property for a period of slightly over thirty years, and he died on 30 July 1903. I assume that Thomas J. Dixon lived in the South Gatehouse for that thirty-year period and also during those thirty years built the larger second section of the house, including the bay window rooms.
Upon the death of Thomas J. Dixon in 1903, the property was transferred via his will to Virginia Smith (wife of Samuel F. Smith and niece of Thomas J. Dixon’s wife Sarah J. Dixon).
For some reason, Virginia Smith kept ownership of the South Gate House for less than two months, and allowed the ownership to flow via Thomas J. Dixon’s will to Ella Dixon Pitts, who was the wife of Fred Pitts and daughter of Thomas Dixon’s deceased brother George Dixon.
For some reason, Ella Dixon Pitts kept ownership of the South Gatehouse for less than two months, and then sold it on 28 September 1903 to Sidney Columbus Long.
Sidney Columbus Long kept ownership and resided in the South Gate House for over 16 years from 1903 to 1920 when he died on 4 May 1920. Ownership was then transferred to his widow Elnora Frances Pollitt, who continued to live there for six more years until her death on 28 July 1926.
Upon the death of Elnora Frances Pollitt in 1920, the property was inherited to Sidney Upshur Long, who was the son of Sydney Columbus Long and the stepson of Elnora Frances Pollitt.
Sidney Upshur Long and his wife Sarah C. Long kept ownership of the South Gatehouse for almost four years until they sold it to Loretta G. Hawk on 19 June 1930. She kept ownership of the South Gate House for over eleven years, but after its purchase she continued to live down the street at another house which then had the address of 102 Prince William Street.
On 19 December 1941, Loretta G. Hawk transferred ownership of the South Gate House to James Edward Lauchner & wife Ethelyn E. Ethelyn who was Loretta's daughter. Loretta died on 10 October 1952 in the South Gate House while living there with her son-in-law and daughter. For almost 30 years, James and Ethelyn owned the residence until his death in June 1971.
On 22 June 1971, James and Ethelyn Lauchner sold the South Gate House to John C. Tracey and his wife Gladys Ethelynde Tracey. For 43 years (1971 to 2024), John Charles Tracey and his wife owned the South Gatehouse and it was frequently referred to as 'Judge Tracey's House', but he reportedly never lived there.
Jill Diane Tracey, a daughter of John C. Tracey, lived in the South Gate House for a number of years between 1996 and 2008, but the property was uninhabited for long periods of time.
On 27 June 2024, the Tracey family sold the South Gate House to the Somerset County Historical Trust for $35,000. That sale was recorded in the Somerset County Courthouse on 17 July 2024.
Somerset County Historical Trust
PO Box 863 | Princess Anne | MD 21853
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