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AHistory
History · Snow Hill

Snow Hill’s post office opened in 1805, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 229 buildings. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1870.

1805first post office
4on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Snow Hill began

When was Snow Hill founded?

1805

The Snow Hill post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1828.

First census: 320 in 18702020 census: 1,481221 years

How historic is Snow Hill?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Snow Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Snow Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snow Hill is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Snow Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1805, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.1% of homes (±3.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 232 historic buildings, 952 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Snow Hill’s 952 sits above most of its state (98% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 232 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1828 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Snow Hill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Snow Hill Historic District takes in 229 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Snow Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1805: 221 years of Snow Hill.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 232 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
232
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Greene County Courthouse
Greene County CourthouseSt. Barnabas Episcopal Church, built 1887Snow Hill Historic DistrictSnow Hill Colored High School
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Carpenter Gothic1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Queen Anne1
Stick/Eastlake1
Colonial Revival1
Greene County CourthouseBuilding
All 4 listings
St. Barnabas Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1979Snow Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000Snow Hill Colored High SchoolBuilding · listed 2003

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Snow Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Snow Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Snow Hill, 1805 to 1971

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Post officeThe Snow Hill post office opens
  3. 1887BuiltSt. Barnabas Episcopal Church is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Born hereMule Shirley is born here
  6. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1922Born hereRay E. Eubanks is born here
  8. 1935Born hereJean R. Preston is born here
  9. 1971Born hereDonald G. Davis is born here
The story

How Snow Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Snow Hill.

Read it all →

In its early history, Snow Hill was near the location of the final major battle of the Tuscarora War at Fort Neoheroka in 1713. There are several theories for the derivation of the town's name. One theory is that the town derived its name from the Contentnea Creek on whose banks Native Americans camped and called them "snowy white," which was translated into "snowy hills." It snows rarely, however, so the snowy white is more likely a reference to the white sands along the creek. Another theory was described by McLoud in the Goldsboro newspaper as being "loblolly pine is in water," and the most recent translation from the Tuscarora language offered was "as fish go by."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Snow Hill, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Snow Hill, North Carolina2019Snow Hill, North CarolinaGreene County Courthouse, North Carolina2019Greene County Courthouse, North CarolinaSnow Hill School, Greene County2012Snow Hill School, Greene CountyCoastal Storm ^ Flooding ^ Hurricane-Tropical Storm - Snow Hill, N. C. , October 29, 2011 -- David Morgan, Hazard Mitig…2011Coastal Storm ^ Flooding ^ Hurricane-Tropical Storm -…Greene Central High School2007Greene Central High School
On the map

Snow Hill on the map, 1914 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Snow Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Snow Hill on the 1914 USGS mapSnow Hill on the 1982 USGS map1914Kinston sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Snow Hill.

People over time

Snow Hill, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,595

Between 283 and 1,595 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Snow Hill’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Snow Hill

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Donald G. DavisAmerican politician · b. 1971
Jean R. PrestonAmerican politician · b. 1935
Mule ShirleyAmerican baseball player · b. 1901
Ray E. EubanksUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1922
C
Cliff GodwinAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1978

Questions about Snow Hill’s history

What year was Snow Hill founded?

The Snow Hill post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1828.

How does Snow Hill rank for history?

Snow Hill is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Snow Hill?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Greene County Courthouse (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Snow Hill Historic District, with 229 contributing buildings. 232 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Snow Hill?

10% of Snow Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.