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A walk through the Royal Port
of Snow Hill is a stroll through the centuries. Along
Federal, Church and Washington Streets, enormous sycamores
and stately homes reflect the history of a small settlement
chartered by English colonists in 1686 and named after a
district in London. Located on the south bank of the
Pocomoke River, whose deep and dark waters bounded by the
bald cypress distinguish it as one of the nation's most
singular scenic rivers, the settlement grew and prospered as
the waterway fostered commerce and farming flourished in the
temperate climate and rich soil. In 1694, the town was
designated a royal port by William and Mary of England.
When in 1742 the Houses of Assembly approved "An Act to
Divide Somerset County and to Create a new County of the
Seaboard Side by the name of Worcester," the government seat
of the new county was established as Snow Hill. In 1793 the
town was platted into some 1000 lots. Snow Hill was involved
in the American Revolution and in June 1775, adopted
resolutions to aid Massachusetts. Local records were hidden
in the War of 1812. Northern and southern sympathies were
both evident during the War Between the States.
As steamboats replaced schooners, Snow Hill continued as an
active port, carrying passengers and goods to the Western
Shore. Hotels and boarding houses sprang up, and a lumber
company dominated the waterfront. Stores for general
merchandise, liveries, coopers, smiths, and wagon makers all
took their living from the traffic plying the river.
Though the disastrous fire of 1893 destroyed Snow Hill's
original downtown area and the early town and county records
housed in the Courthouse, many other historic homes and
public buildings remain, including several pre-Revolutionary
War structures, carefully preserved and maintained by
today's Snow Hill residents.
After the Civil War, the railroad found its way along
Maryland's Eastern Shore, providing fast, inexpensive
transportation of goods and passengers, and causing a steady
decline in river traffic; the shipyards closed and the
boarding houses became vacant. The people turned to the land
and established a strong agricultural economy in corn,
soybeans and livestock.
Today, Snow Hill functions as Worcester County's seat, with
the Courthouse the nucleus of much activity. Small
businesses are available to serve the needs of Snow Hill and
the surrounding agrarian interests.
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