Historic Bel Air Homestead for Sale

This property on West Gordon Street represents a page out of Bel Air’s history.

Called the Graybeal-Kelly House, the residence was built in 1835 as a manor home for the Liriodendron estate while that larger house was being constructed, according to the Maryland Historic Trust.

The manor house is “grand in its own right,” with eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, a smokehouse, greenhouse and clay tennis court, according to the Maryland State Archives. All four rooms on the first floor have their own fireplace, while the basement contains a fireplace and warming shelves, according to the archives. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 along with the Liriodendron mansion.

Howard Kelly, M.D., one of the founders of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a pioneer in gynecology, first owned the home.

The Graybeal family, which purchased it in 1961, undertook a “loving restoration” of the property, adding central air and updating plumbing, electrical and roofing, auctioneer Bill Fox told The Aegis in November 2013, when the property went to auction; none of the bids met the undisclosed reserve price.

Former property owners W. Eugene and Jean Graybeal were extremely involved in the community. Eugene Graybeal was a Bel Air town commissioner who served as mayor in addition to being on the Harford County Board of Education and co-owner of Courtland Hardware in downtown Bel Air, according to The Baltimore Sun. His wife, Jean Graybeal, founded the Bel Air Beautification Committee and Liriodendron Foundation, helped plan Bynum Run Park and co-owned Boxwood Antiques, The Sun reported.

The home on West Gordon Street was appraised at $1 million by two different agencies, according to The Aegis, which reported the town of Bel Air had been approached but did not express an interest in purchasing it.

The Graybeal-Kelly House is located at 501 West Gordon Street and is listed for $799,000. See more information about the property on Zillow.