Although this home was previously thought to have been built by the Dye family around 1884 when they moved to Harford County, an examination of deeds indicates that it was more likely built later. The land on which it was built was owned by Margaret Tweedle who died in August 1900 and bequeathed it to her heirs. The latter sold the land (for $100) in February 1903 to Sylvester E. Penning (1840-1929) who was an attorney for the City Building and Loan Association. Sylvester and his wife (Alice) sold the land the following year (for $135) to D. Craig Jones (1881-1907).

It is believed that D. Craig Jones and his wife, Mary Arilla Jones, built this home by May 1907 when they were granted a mortgage by the Home Building and Loan Association of Cecil Company, of which Craig Jones was a member. He, however, died in 1907 and, not surprisingly, his widow defaulted on the mortgage. The home was sold at public auction in March 1910 to Sadie Sills Dye (1874-1960), the wife of Joseph Evans “Joe” Dye (1869-1931).

Joe Dye’s family were decoy carvers, hunters, and fishermen, who had moved to Havre de Grace from Cecil County, around 1884. Captain Benjamin F. Dye (1832-1895) had married Adeline Mitchell in 1865 prior to moving to Havre de Grace and they had several children including Edward, Martha Virginia, William Morrison and Joseph Evans Dye. Captain Ben was a professional waterman in Havre de Grace, gunning waterfowl for the market, guiding sportsmen on sinkbox outings, fishing, and making decoys. He also was one of the first “Ducking Police” in 1872 appointed by the Maryland General Assembly to patrol the Cecil County side of the Susquehanna Flats (that was the same year that Captain Ben was arrested and fined for violating those same laws!). Captain Benjamin and son Joe Dye are known to have carved some of the earliest gunning decoys and it is said that they without question produced some of the earliest and finest carved gunning decoys to float the waters of the Susquehanna Flats.

Sadie Dye had married Joe in 1889 in the Havre de Grace Methodist Church (at that time located at 109 North Union Avenue). Joe Dye became known for being the first gunner in Havre de Grace to use and hunt with a modern Browning automatic shotgun. Joe and Sadie named a son Joseph William Dye (1897-1986), who lived at this address when he was inducted for WWI service. He served in 154th Depot Brigade and Company G 72nd Infantry in 1918. He received an honorable discharge in January 1919 and is on the Honor Roll at Tydings Park. He was the husband of Agnes Benton Dye (1911-1997), worked for 40 years at the Perry Point Veterans Hospital, and became a decoy carver in his own right.

Another of Captain Ben’s sons, William M. Dye, in 1888 married his wife Carrie Horner Dye (1869-1925) in the local St. John’s Church. William also worked as a fisherman, but not a carver. Captain Ben passed away in 1895 at William’s home at 501 South Washington Street (now demolished). His obituary was printed in The Havre de Grace Republican on March 30, 1895, and stated that Captain Ben Dye was a well-known resident of Havre de Grace, moving to the town in 1884, “where he has since been engaged in gunning and fishing.” William Dye passed away at the age of 45 in 1911.

Sadie and Joe’s son, Joseph William Dye (1897-1986), and his father also served as fishing and ducking guides to many visitors from Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC. They included John Wanamaker (of department store fame) and Henry Disston (of Keystone Saw Works) with whom they built good and lasting relationships beyond their time on the Susquehanna Flats. Joseph W. Dye gratefully remembers that their former client, Henry Disston, used to send his father “a pension” every month after he had a stroke and also paid his funeral expenses. Joseph William Dye became one of Harford County’s Living Legends prior to his 1986 death.

After the death of Sadie Dye in 1960, this property left the Dye family and was sold in 1970 to Phillip S. Hines, Sr. (1940-1996) and his wife, Janet. In 1991 Phillip Hines, Sr. sold this to Phillip Hines, Jr. and his wife, Leann. This property passed to the Wells Fargo Bank in 2009, who sold it to Anita Konyak that same year. In 2012 Anita Konyak sold this home to Ned Devine, LLC; this appears to be an investment property.

County Records
Built 1930. 1516 sq ft, 2 stories, 1.5 baths, 5250 sq ft lot.