Location at Snyder Community

Snyder Community
Hale County, Texas

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Mennonite Colony

Visiting the Snyder Community

There can be some confusion about the location of the Snyder Community, even among Hale County residents, because a city named Snyder is located about 125 miles southeast of the former Mennonite colony. That city is the seat of Scurry County. Nevertheless, the Snyder Community which is the subject of this web site does appear on many maps. In fact, while we visited Plainview in June 2007, we watched the weather on a Lubbock TV station during three nights of tornado warnings. When the zoom level on the weather map was sufficient, we could see Snyder (Hale County) indicated.

Both maps below are from U.S. Census Bureau Mapping and Cartographic Resources. Click on a map to view a larger image.

The red dot on the larger map (right) marks the center of the former Snyder Mennonite colony, south of Plainview in Hale County. According to Alta Hartzler Conrad, who was born on the Joseph Hartzler farm in 1911 and lived there until 1924, the only public building during the predominantly Mennonite years was the school house/church/community center. Snyder Community was never a town with stores, post office, banks, and so on.

There are four remaining buildings from the Mennonite colony time period. Although these buildings are NOT OPEN to the public, they can be seen from the public road or street. Three are privately owned, inhabited houses. If you visit any of the sites, please respect the privacy of the families in residence. The fourth building is a barn that is in the center of a 640-acre section; it must be viewed from the road a half mile away. Do not attempt to drive on a private lane to reach the barn.

To visit the Snyder Community area, begin in the city of Plainview at the intersection of US 70 and Date Street/FM 400. Travel south of Plainview on FM 400 for about four-and-one-half miles. On the west side of the road is the former Ferdinand and Amanda Hartman Rastetter house, built in 1916. (Photo at left.) It was the family's second house built on the site. Their first one, built in 1908 or 1909, was smaller. The Rastetters lived here until the fall of 1927, when they sold this farm to H. J. Ellis and moved into Plainview.

Continue driving south on FM 400 about one-half mile. On the west side of the road is the Snyder Community historical marker, dedicated on Saturday, April 22, 1978, by the Hale County Historical Commission. Several people who were at that dedication ceremony returned to the marker during the 2007 Snyder Community Centennial guided driving tour. (Photo at right.)

GPS coordinates for the historical marker are: N34.108714° W101.696430° (N34° 6' 31.3704'' W101° 41' 47.148'')

If the weather has been dry, you can travel into the Snyder Community area by turning right (west) at the next crossroad, CR-145. (Caution: this dirt road can be quite muddy after a rain. Local residents advise not traveling on it under those circumstances.) A little more than one mile west of FM 400, past the intersection with Way Road, on the south side of the road, is the house built by the Peter and Ida Grabill Snyder family about 1909.
This photo of the Snyder house (left) is from the Grace Snyder Swartzendruber Collection. One family story says it was a Sears kit house, delivered by rail and assembled by Peter and his family.

Continue driving west on CR-145 to the next intersection, CR-V. Turn left (south) and drive for about half of a mile. In the distance to the west, you can see a barn, built in the center of the 640-acre section owned by Milton and Barbara Neuschwanger Near. (Photo at right.) The Nears moved to the Snyder Community in 1909 and farmed here until 1920. Ben and Creola McAnelly Harris moved onto the farm in 1938; their daughter still owns the property. The abandoned barn still has a solid frame and a roof that doesn't leak.

The final Mennonite house that can be seen today was built for the Jonas and Kate Stine Kreider family about 1909. It was originally located across the road and a little west from the Peter Snyder house. In 1917, Robert and Telitha Griffeth Wilson bought the Kreider farm and lived there until at least 1930. Their grandson Elton Wilson reported that the Mennonite house was moved into Plainview sometime after World War II. He identified it during the 2007 Snyder Community Centennial guided driving tour as located on Alpine Drive. (Photo at left.)

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