Ann E. Dorbin
11/1/2006

The waitress who served your lunch recognizes you when later you see her in the Town Hall, where she works a second job in code enforcement. A town policeman’s beat includes the daily ritual of sharing an orange soda and crackers with an elderly shop owner. Locals give directions using landmarks—“take a left at the big sycamore tree”—and finish with, “Just say Larry sent you.” There is nothing artificial about the down home community atmosphere in this Eastern Shore town: this is the real deal. Along these streets and riverways, people seem to live in a forgotten era—knowing and helping each other in ways that often become lost in the fast-paced modern world. Old men tell stories and play checkers in a hardware store with wooden floors, and a person’s word and handshake are still a form of currency. Against this picturesque backdrop Snow Hill, like most of the Eastern Shore’s small towns, is striving to protect its history and charm, while managing growth, economic, and environmental pressures. Snow Hill calls itself “a town that can look so far back, we are looking forward as well.” Forward-looking entrepreneurs, visionaries, and government officials are mapping out a future for Snow Hill aimed at guaranteeing the town will continue to survive with the vitality it has known for the more than 300 years.

Yesteryear

It has been said that a walk through Snow Hill is a stroll through the centuries. The town is situated along the banks of the Pocomoke River, a waterway listed in Maryland’s Scenic and Wild River System, with deep, dark waters bounded by bald cypress and magnolia forests. For thousands of years this area was home to a large Native American population. In 1642 European colonists arrived, naming the settlement after a district of London. The Pocomoke’s abundant natural resources, depth, and easy access to the Chesapeake Bay played a key role as the settlement prospered into a river-based farming and business community. By 1742, Snow Hill became the Worcester County Seat. Prior to the turn of the 20^th century, Snow Hill thrived as the business and cultural center. Prosperous business owners and ships’ captains built stately riverfront homes, many of which can be seen on house tours today. Although river trade has all but disappeared, the town still exists on the backbone of agriculture, small businesses, and river economics, including a growing recreation and ecotourist trade.

A New River Economy

Gus Payne opened his “authentic downtown hardware store with a little of everything” in 1951. Today, at age 79, his children and grandchildren help operate the business, but Payne still runs the register and greets customers, many of them local farmers. He has seen a lot of changes over the years, and remembers when there were 72 businesses in town, including a grocery store, butcher shop, toothpick manufacturer, antiques mall, three car dealers, three clothing stores, two jewelry stores, two shirt factories, five canneries, and a major fertilizer company. Payne says that when the American love affair with the automobile began in the 1950s, mom ‘n pop businesses began to decline with the trend toward shopping malls and larger stores, eventually leaving much of Snow Hill’s commercial district vacant.

For 55 years, Gus Payne has been telling his customers to “stop back.” Today his store is still here and Snow Hill is slowly coming back as an economic center. Although you’ll still find washboards, cast iron frying pans, old-fashioned die-cast metal toys, and locally hand-knitted baby items on Gus Payne’s selves, he knows that today’s business owner has to diversify. His store also offers a new line of candles, a wide variety of farm-inspired gift items from Massey, Deere, and International Harvester, and the latest must-haves with college girls: John Deere tee-shirts (Girls are farmers, too). “When I first opened, kids would work a paper route for 25 cents a week to pay off the bicycle they bought here. I sold them their first bike and now I’m still selling bikes to third or fourth generations of their children. I still carry a complete line of Radio Flyers wagons and scooters. Some items never go out of style.”

Snow Hill’s revitalization is part of a strategy implemented by a group of civic-minded, ruggedly entrepreneurial pioneers who understand the value of juxtaposing nostalgia and keeping up with the times. Many moved or returned to Snow Hill from metropolitan areas along the East Coast, bringing with them strong, patient business sense and a willingness to take risks. These visionaries believe in Snow Hill and are in it for the long haul, investing time and money in a place they call home. New ventures include fine dining at The Palette, Artiques Art & Furniture Gallery, TK’s Attic Gift Shop, River House Inn, Miss Rai Riverboat Cruises, and Take2 Scoops/Take2 Video, a combined ice cream shop and video store. The husband-wife business model is the norm here, usually with the wife running a small store or gallery while she and/or her husband also have a professional office or investment property around the block. 

A group of these “new urbanists,” as they have been called, formed Snow Hill Alliance for Responsible Progress (SHARP), a collaborative grassroots organization behind the revitalization effort. SHARP worked with local officials to formulate an economic plan, including a Strategic Revitalization Plan, Zoning Plan, and Comprehensive Plan that emphasize the town’s heritage and proximity to the river, as well as its arts community.

Ann Coates, owner of the upscale Bishop’s Stock gallery, is at the forefront of Snow Hill’s rejuvenation. Coates was instrumental in starting a movement to enhance the caliber of the town’s art galleries. “The theory is, one or two businesses get the ball rolling, and it will trickle down to others. You can’t be afraid to reinvent yourself,” she says. With its ultra high ceilings and stock ranging from fine art paintings to colorful ceramics to handmade jewelry and whimsical sculptures, Bishop’s Stock is a Snow Hill must-see. Coates coordinates local art events, including First Friday Gallery Walks, Paint Snow Hill, an annual plein air event, and a promotional event called Up the River with a Painted Paddle. To her, public service is a way of life. Her father, James T. Sturgis, served as mayor for fourteen years; a riverside recreational area, Sturgis Park, is named after him. Her mother, Frances S. Sturgis was behind many community improvement projects, including the Julia A. Purnell Museum. Following suit, Coates sat on the Town Council for six years, and was a member of the Critical Areas Commission. She says, “I intend to carry on that tradition by being a partner as the town evolves.”

Another Snow Hill native, Barry Laws, manages the Calvin B. Taylor Bank downtown, and understands enough about finances to know that nickel cokes are good for business. Laws moved away to pursue his career, but returned to settled down here. In 1983 he opened Pocomoke River Canoe Company, located in an abandoned lumber mill along the banks of the river, where customers can still sip a five-cent soda. In a town inextricably attached to its natural surroundings, the river continues to support one of Snow Hill’s primary economic assets: ecotourism. This gentle backwater paradise is the perfect setting for paddling, birding, and fishing. “It is an absolute unspoiled treasure, still much like it was in pre-colonial times—simply the best flatwater anywhere. It’s true that a day on the Pocomoke is a day in paradise!” To succeed in today’s market, he says, a small business needs to find its niche and offer what the big dogs can’t—things like expertise, personalized service and passion.

Gary Weber is a successful realtor, local politician, and arts council member whose passions are Snow Hill and the arts. Weber arrived in Snow Hill from a high profile position in New York. “It was a glamorous life, but I found myself searching for honesty and integrity, asking myself, ‘where’s the warmth?’” In 2004, he opened the Snow Hill Center for Arts and Entertainment next door to his real estate office (he lives upstairs). The 85-seat, cabaret-style multipurpose space he calls his “rumpus room” hosts monthly art openings, receptions, dinner theaters, and an annual Christmas Spectacular and Holiday Dinner Tour. “We are a small town endeavoring to get on the map on the coast corridor,” he says. “We know we can’t rely on a magic wand, and that there is no better investment than the community in which you live.”

“These are exciting times for Snow Hill,” says Mayor Stephen Matthews, now in his third term. “We are postured on the threshold of great things happening.” Matthews, an Army brat and retired Washington D.C. policeman, has been in law enforcement for 37 years. Working closely with local business people and what he calls a “kitchen cabinet” consisting of paid staff and volunteer community advisors, he views himself as a captain steering a ship navigated by citizens. He says his most important function is convincing people that rejuvenating Snow Hill requires growth to achieve economic viability, sustain public works, and increase its a tax base.

When the town had the chance to increase its size by adding about 934 acres of farmland, Matthews didn’t wait for the opposition to bring the issue to referendum; he did so himself. In March 2006, with strong support from the business community and town officials, the annexation was overwhelmingly approved (584-24), allowing Mark Odachowski, a developer from Ocean City, to move ahead with Summerfield, a development of more than 2,000 homes that could more than double the existing population of about 2,500.

Designed with input from The Nature Conservancy, nationally-known planners, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, and an alliance of local citizens’ groups and government officials, Summerfield will phase-in gradually over a 10 to 20 year buildout. The resulting “neo-traditional” community, with its front porches, rear garages, and connected neighborhoods, is intended to mimic the character of a mature riverfront community. Mixed-uses of residential, retail, and office space will offer mutually beneficial connections to the existing town and the region. Odachowski has pledged to build a $12 million sewage treatment plant and $3 million water tower, create 440 acres (about 48% of Summerfield’s area) of open space, and donate 166 state-preserved acres of potentially developable land along the Pocomoke River. He says that rather than operating strictly from a bottom line standpoint, he prefers to consider “net benefit to the community.”

Odachowski, a successful 30-something entrepreneur and father of three, is committed to Maryland’s Lower Shore region. He has spent the last five years plotting a return to what he calls “authentic small town living.” In his mind, “Summerfield is all about quality of life—it’s about family and kids. We’re not just building homes; we’re extending the community. Memories will be made here: you can get a fresh-caught oyster sandwich, go fishing along the river, visit the Assateague ponies or to take the grandkids to Ocean City for the day. We have our sights set on what’s good for Snow Hill as a town. As we raise the bar, our objective is to find the right balance and harmony between humans nd nature and make this a model for other towns on the Eastern Shore.”
 

Be Sure to Come Back

If you think a rural small town has to be dull or sleepy, think again. Whether you enjoy art, nature, holiday festivities, history, or children’s events, from riverfront dancing under the stars, to Strawberry Day, and the annual Celtic Festival, there is always something happening in and around this town.

Snow Hill welcomes visitors and tourists with open arms, and often by name. “We sure glad you came to town,” the local cop says sincerely, “be sure to come back.” But Snow Hill doesn’t want you to stay a stranger. The invitation on promotional materials reads, Don’t just come visit, think about living here. “We don’t need to copy other towns,” says Gary Weber. “We have our own identity that is rooted in our history and our environment; we want to preserve and build on what is good about Snow Hill.”