Mark Winnett Dent came to Salem in 1876. With his brother Ferguson Dent, he started a business in 1880 known as the Dent Brothers Store. He met and married Mary Louise Reiser, and they had three children: Bertha Dent, James Frank Dent, and George Albert Dent. The home was demolished in the 1960's to make way for the gas station at the corner of North Main and Sixth Street.