The Press in Snyder
Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The "Scurry County Citizen", published by A. C. Wilmeth before 1887, was first of 8 different nameplates (under 39 owners) to print in Snyder. "Coming West", founded by Dick Lively, began publication in 1887, followed by the "News", "Western Light", "Signal", "Times", and "Times-Signal". All of these were county papers printed weekly, except for period in 1911 when "Signal" was published daily. "Snyder Daily News" was founded by Harte-Hanks Newspapers, May 1, 1950, with Herbert Feather as publisher. Feather Printing and Publishing Company acquired the "News" in 1957. (1971)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
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.
Why it matters
The churn of frontier newspapers shows how a young Western community argued, informed, and defined itself in print long before it was fully settled.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · A. C. Wilmeth
- · Dick Lively
- · Herbert Feather
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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.
Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field
Snyder, TX
The 1948 discovery of the Canyon Reef Formation drew international attention as thousands of wells at 6,500 feet defined a field holding an estimated four billion barrels. The boom brought a flood of contractors, geologists, roughnecks, and $300 million in investment to Scurry County. When engineers realized that competitive drilling would recover only a fraction of the oil, operators pioneered voluntary "unitization" and pressure-injection programs that doubled recovery and set new standards in conservation.
First State Bank Building
Snyder, TX
Built in 1907-08 beside Deep Creek, where the trail of Gen. Ranald Mackenzie's U.S. Cavalry had once run, this Snyder landmark housed the First State Bank & Trust Co., an early bank serving West Texas cattlemen and ranchers. It closed during the depression year of 1931 and afterward sheltered many tenants, including the local newspaper. Its Ionic-columned Greek Revival exterior survives unchanged from the day it was built.
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.