Snyder County Historical Highlight:
A Hidden Gem – The Historical Society’s On-Site Museum
Did you know that Snyder County is named for Simon Snyder, a resident of Selinsgrove who served as Pennsylvania’s third governor from 1808 to 1817?
Snyder rose to political prominence despite having little formal education and a background as a tanner and farmer.
Snyder County was established in March 1855 when it separated from the southern portion of Union County.
Snyder County is expansive and includes the towns of Beavertown, Beaver Springs, Freeburg, Hummels Wharf, Kratzerville, Kreamer, McClure, Mount Pleasant Springs, Middleburg, Penn’s Creek, Port Trevorton, Selinsgrove, Shamokin Dam, and Troxelville.
A Brief History
The county’s formation was the result of the culmination of economic rivalries, primarily between Lewisburg and Selinsgrove over railroad construction.
The region was initially settled by Scots-Irish fur traders but by the mid-18th century it was predominantly populated by Pennsylvania German and Swiss immigrants from Berks and Lancaster Counties; this cultural heritage is still visible today in language, architecture, and agricultural traditions.
Like its neighboring counties, the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania Canal played significant roles in its development. The Canal facilitated the transport of agricultural products, lumber, and iron ore, leading to the growth of towns like Selinsgrove, which became a major canal town.
Historical industries included agriculture, thanks to the fertile land and Pennsylvania German farming traditions, with a focus on crops and livestock, including dairy and poultry.
The dense forests of the county made lumbering a significant industry in the 19th century.
Iron ore, mined from Shade Mountain, was a notable export; it was processed at local furnaces or shipped via canals and later railroads.
The county’s manufacturing history includes a variety of operations, including bricks, textiles, and wood products.
Notable Figures
Three significant historical figures are often associated with Snyder County:
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Simon Snyder (1759-1819) was a prominent politician and resident of Selinsgrove; he served as the third Governor of Pennsylvania and was the first of German ancestry.
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Conrad Weiser (1696-1760) was a Pennsylvania German pioneer, interpreter and diplomat who was instrumental in negotiating with Native American tribes on behalf of the Pennsylvania colonial government.
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Frederick Stump (1732-1801) was a controversial figure in the county’s history. He was a frontier settler, and along with his accomplice John Ironcutter was involved in the Penn’s Creek Massacre of 1768 where ten Native Americans were murdered, sparkling outrage and contributing to tensions between settlers and Native tribes.
A Hidden Gem – The Historical Society’s On-Site Museum
Two Snyder County Historical Society board members and volunteers, Janet Walter and Esther Klinger, discussed in a recent interview the importance of preserving local history, including family histories, and historical artifacts.
They noted other lesser-known historical sites like the Shoch blockhouse in Kreamer, which was a pioneer refuge during the Revolutionary War and the Old Herman School, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1842.
On-site, the historical society has the original hanging gallows that was used for the last time in Snyder County in 1883, as well as the documentation surrounding those tragic events.
On a more light-hearted note, the Historical Society, housed in the oldest church in Snyder County (1834) is home to several rooms of displays related to Native Americans in the region, and most notably, an entire room devoted to the Civil War with dozens of relics, and an original Revolutionary War drum. They also house soldiers’ uniforms from many levels and branches of service, as well as the uniform of Elda Graybill, a WWI nurse.
Other displays include historical exhibits related to life in the County throughout the 1800s and 1900s, including what used to be Rolling Green Park, quilts, home furnishings, printing presses, and the like.
What is the relevance of history today?
Janet Walter said, “I think it’s important to know your roots, why your ancestors came here, the hardships they went through to build up property, clear the land of trees…it’s good to know what foods they ate and what types of businesses they developed and about their lifestyle.”
She continued, “There wasn’t a trail up here, there wasn’t a road until about 1780 so the earlier settlers came through the woods on horseback or up the river.” She said a lot of early residents came from Berks County.
Snyder County Historical Society Contact info:
30 East Market Street, Middleburg, PA 17842
570-837-6191
schs@snydercounty.org
https://snydercohistoricalsociety.org/
Active on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072612063721
Hours are March-December: Thursdays from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and by appointment.
