SNOW HILL HISTORY
Snow Hill, Texas, as a town no longer exists, and absolutely nothing remains of the original town. In the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, it was a thriving rural community located in close proximity to the border of Titus and Morris Counties on State Highway 49. Morris County was carved out of Titus County some years later. At Snow Hill, there was a fork in the road where one road went on to Mt. Pleasant from Daingerfield, and another went North to Clarksville. This old road to Clarksville was abandoned many years ago but the original road bed can still be seen on land owned by John Hunt, a great grandson of A. S. Hunt and grandson of Bessie Daily Hunt. Remnants of an old home place were discovered as he cleaned up the area.
Local legend has it that there was a water well in the fork of the road. It was said that the well provided water to the stage coach horses that traveled this road. The remnants of this well can also be seen on land owned by John Hunt. The stage station provided a change of horses and drivers. It must have been quite a little town as it included a bakery, various mercantile stores and saloons to boot.
When railroads were being built in East Texas it was assumed that a rail line from Jefferson to Daingerfield would continue on to Mt. Pleasant passing through Snow Hill, but this line did not come to pass. Instead, the railroad went west to Pittsburg, and the small town of Cason developed just south of Snow Hill. With the coming of the railroad, Cason prospered as most of the Snow Hill businesses moved to Cason. Eventually the town of Snow Hill faded away into history.
However, the Snow Hill church and cemetery survived and are located just a short distance west of State Highway 49 inside Morris County. Opposite an intersection of Farm Road 144 there is a sign pointing to the church that is a few hundred yards up a country road to the west of the highway. The church and cemetery are south of where the town used to be.
The land for the church and cemetery was granted by John W. Cason to the church on June 18, 1870 and recorded on the deed records in the Titus County Court House at Mt. Pleasant, TX and also in the Morris County transcribed records in Volume 7, Page 8. The property is just barely in Morris County.
Traylor Russell, a descendant of both the Russell and Traylor families, was a lawyer in Mt. Pleasant for many years. He authored numerous books on the history of the county and the pioneer people who lived there. The following history of the Snow Hill Church and Cemetery was written by him on January 1, 1979.
Today's traveler on Texas State Highway 49, when he crosses the Titus-Morris County Line, will not realize that he is traveling along the main street of quite a large country village that existed from about 1840 to 1875. This town was known as Snow Hill. It had a post office, drug store, school, church, doctors, lawyers, and merchants; but it had no railroad, the lack of which eventually caused its citizens to remove elsewhere. This road has had various names through the years. It has been known as the Caddo Trace, the Choctaw Trail, the Clarksville Road, and the Jefferson Road.
The exact date of the organization of Snow Hill's first church is not known. Jim Hayes, a pioneer of the community, has said that there was a church at Snow Hill in the early 1850's. There is also some memory of a church located at the Hayes Cemetery as early as 1850, and records do exist to show the organization of a church in the Bethel Community in 1866. The congregation of the Bethel Church later became a part of the church that we know today as the Snow Hill Baptist Church.
J. W. Cason was a merchant at Snow Hill and a large landowner in the area. On June 18, 1870, he and his wife, Thurza, deeded four acres of land to the Snow Hill Baptist Church for church and cemetery purposes. There is some history to the effect that as a result of this deed, the former church building was moved from the town center of Snow Hill to the present location. This old church faced in the opposite direction from the modern building. In 1948 the old building was demolished and the present building constructed.
As far as is known, there are no burials in the adjacent cemetery prior to the deed from J. J. Cason. Earlier burials were at nearby cemeteries: the Hayes Cemetery, about one mile northeast; the Reynolds Cemetery, about three miles east; and the Blevins Cemetery, about three miles south. There were other small family cemeteries at unknown locations.
The Snow Hill Cemetery has always been well cared for and fenced by those whose loved ones are buried there. About 1965 the late Gus Presley started a Perpetual Care Fund. This fund has grown steadily and today (Jan 1, 1979) is approximately $22,500. The proceeds from the sale of this history will go to the Perpetual Care Fund.
Traylor Russell, Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
January 1, 1979
The Perpetual Care Fund has grown steadily. Because of wise and safe investments, the interest earned from this fund has been adequate to provide good care and maintenance. However, this is not to say that there are sufficient funds to make some needed capital improvements and major maintenance such as commercial cleaning of some of the monuments that over the years have broken, weathered to the point that the engraving is hard to read or have been badly discolored from mold, moss or mildew. We encourage all who have relatives buried here to financially support the Perpetual Care Fund so that this cemetery will look as good in the next century as it does today. Due to the very low interest rates of today's economy the income has decreased considerably so today there is an even greater need for financial gifts to the Fund. Please visit the Snow Hill Cemetery Association page for additional details on how you can help.
Please visit our historical photos section for additional historical information and pictures.