F. J. Grayum Home
Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1909 early day druggist F. J. Grayum built this classical revival style home with Ionic-pillared porches and balconies on the front and east side. The double masonry walls and two-inch thick floors show quality workmanship with solid brass hardware, eleven-foot ceilings, a coal boiler for heating, and a large attic. Rancher L. E. Long lived here for a time and D. P. Yoder, owner of the city light plant, raised his seven children in this home. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1909 the druggist F. J. Grayum raised this classical revival home on the West Texas plains, dressing it with Ionic-pillared porches, eleven-foot ceilings, and solid brass hardware in an era when such finish signaled prosperity on the frontier. Later owners included a rancher and the proprietor of the town's electric light plant, whose family filled its rooms. The double masonry walls and thick floors have carried it forward as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
Why it matters
Fine houses like this marked the moment a raw ranching county settled into permanence, when merchants and civic men chose to build for generations rather than for a season.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · F. J. Grayum
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Towle House
Snyder, TX
Dr. H. G. Towle and his wife Mary came to Snyder soon after marrying in 1905 to open a jewelry and optical store, and in 1912 they built this two-story brick home with a full basement, blending colonial revival and craftsman touches. Beyond his practice, Dr. Towle helped organize the town's volunteer fire department, served two decades as mayor, and presided over the Texas Board of Optometry. The home stayed in the family until 1956.
The Press in Snyder
Snyder, TX
Newspapers came early and often to Snyder, where eight different nameplates passed through some three dozen owners over the decades, from the pioneering "Scurry County Citizen" of the 1880s through a string of weeklies with names like the "Signal" and the "Times." A major newspaper chain launched the "Snyder Daily News" in 1950, and a local family soon took the reins, giving the plains town a lasting daily voice.
Santa Fe Railway in Scurry County
Snyder, TX
In 1909 Scurry County had only a short local line and no link to distant markets, a serious handicap in an age when the railroad determined a town's fortunes. Local boosters and cereal magnate C. W. Post put up money to lure the Santa Fe Railway, which was mapping a route between Lubbock and Coleman. By the end of 1911 its tracks crossed the county with depots at Dermott, Hermleigh, Pyron, and Snyder, tying the region into national commerce and, decades later, hauling equipment for its booming oilfields.
Site of Store of William Henry (Pete) Snyder
Snyder, TX
William Henry "Pete" Snyder — a Civil War veteran who had mined Colorado gold, built Kansas railroads, and hauled freight and buffalo hides — opened Snyder's first trading post here in 1878, its lumber freighted by ox-wagon from Fort Worth. The store supplied buffalo hunters living in dugouts along Deep Creek. After three years Snyder left the trade, laid out part of the original townsite, and sold lots before moving to Colorado City, where he died in 1916.