Hydes, in plain sight
When Roy Wagner of Glen Arm took his camera to the auction of Sewell’s General Store in Hydes 50 years ago, he had no idea that his photographs would capture more than one bygone period of Americana. In July 1968, Long Green Valley inhabitants gathered at 5235 Hydes Road to witness the end of an era. The country store operated by Robert D. “Bob” Sewell and his wife, Mamie, since 1918 was changing hands.
The 1883 store was built by farmer Samuel N. Hyde in anticipation of the expansion of the Maryland Central Railroad. Tracks were laid directly in front of the store, which also functioned as the train depot and post office. Trains for the renamed Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad, affectionately known as the Ma& Pa, chugged past Hyde station until rail service ended in Maryland in 1958. The community and station went by the name Hyde, without the “s” used today for the district and road.
Bob and Mamie Sewell lived at the store and served as the Hyde station agent and postmaster until the trains halted and the post office was moved into an adjacent structure a few years later. After Bob Sewell died in 1967, his widow decided to auction the building and its contents. Casey Beers of Fork purchased the weathered property last year to protect it from being torn down. Beers, a charter boat captain, plans to preserve its Victorian charm. Country Paws Pet Salon and Gypsy, a clothing and gift boutique set to open in August, are the retail tenants. Despite all the changes, this country landmark has endured.
This Darkroom is the second in an series of Roy Wagner’s photos from the 1950s and 1960s. “Roy Wagner’s Baltimore” appeared in the Darkroom on June 15, 2018.