The Response at Snyder Community

Snyder Community
Hale County, Texas

JavaScript Menu, DHTML Menu Powered By Milonic

Mennonite Colony

Colonization: The Response

The Mennonite colony in Hale County, Texas, did not spring into existence with the arrival of a group of people relocating from one area. Instead, over time, families from a number of states responded to Peter B. Snyder's urgings to join him in Texas. Hale County was experiencing great population growth around 1907, due in no small part to the construction of a Santa Fe Railway line through the county.

The earliest recorded deed I've found so far for a Mennonite purchasing land was Milton H. Near on Oct. 8, 1906. Near bought a whole section (Survey 25, Block A1), 640 acres, from R. J. Goode, Jr. and his wife S. M. Goode, of Hale County.¹ On October 31, 1906, a group of Mennonite men bought another whole section, Survey 10, Block D7, from J. H. and Alice R. Buntin. Peter B. Snyder,² John Hartzler,³ Christian Hertzler,⁴ Henry E. Landis,⁵ Benjamin Martin,⁶ and D. S. Yoder,⁷ all bought land from the Buntins.

In January, 1907, from Plainview, Texas, H. E. Landis reported to Herald of Truth readers, "There are now two Mennonite families living here and several more are arranging to come. Our ministering brother, P. B. Snyder of Jackson, Minn., will bring his family the first Tuesday in February."⁸ The Snyder family arrived on February 8.⁹Snyder family stories say that the three-generation family split up temporarily upon arrival in Texas, some members of the family staying with the Ben Martins and others with the John Hartzlers. These are likely the two families mentioned by Landis in his letter. According to Benjamin Martin's obituary in the Gospel Herald, his family moved to Plainview in 1906, "being the first family to locate in the Plainview Mennonite colony."¹⁰ The obituary of John Hartzler's daughter Lydia, who was born February 3, 1900, states that at the age of six, she moved to Plainview, Texas, with her parents.¹¹

Landis also reported that recent visitors to Plainview had included A. D. Driver from Versailles, Missouri; Joseph Hartzler, from Orrville, Ohio; J. D. King, from Spencer, Oklahoma; and Peter Zeher from Wood River, Nebraska.

Joseph Hartzler liked what he saw on that visit and wrote his own letter to the Herald of Truth. Dated February 20, 1907, his letter from "Plain View," Texas, stated, "We need more brethren and sisters to locate here, so that we can establish a church and Sunday school that both young and old can be fed and provided with spiritual food and grow and prosper in the work of the Lord."¹² Like Peter Snyder, Hartzler arranged special railroad fares for his brethren who wished to visit the colony site, saying, "We shall be glad to have all who can go with us on March 5." This may have been the date he moved his family from Ohio to Texas. Family stories say the move was in March, and Hartzler's deed for 320 acres, indicating he was "of Hale County, Texas," is dated March 15, 1907.¹³

On May 31, 1907, Peter Snyder reported to readers of the Mennonite periodical the Gospel Witness that church services were being held in homes, with attendance as high as fifty-seven. Also, arrangements were being made for a school district, "of which the settlement is the center."¹⁴ A year later, Snyder wrote that on May 8, 1908, during the visit of Bishop David Garber of La Junta, Colorado, the Mennonite Church at Snyder was formally organized, associating with the Kansas-Nebraska District.¹⁵ Besides Snyder, the Rev. Andrew Brenneman ministered to the congregation. The Brenneman family had moved to the colony from Lima, Ohio, in March, 1907.¹⁶

By the end of 1908, the Mennonite colonists had possession of "about 5120 acres, almost in a solid block which is much to our advantage and largely due to the untiring efforts of our beloved brother P. B. Snyder."¹⁷ By February 1909, "Bro. J. M. Kreider" had become "the third minister at this place."¹⁸

Footnotes

1. Deed Record, Book 13: 419, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 8, 1906 - Milton H. Near of Osborne Co., Kansas, grantee; R. J. Goode, Jr., and wife S. M. Goode, Hale Co., Texas, grantors; Survey 25, Block A1.

2. Deed Record, Book 14: 164-5, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 31, 1906 - P. B. Snyder, grantee; J. H. Buntin and wife Alice R. Buntin, grantors: 240 acres, Survey 10 Block D7, the North East 1/4 of said Survey and the North one-half of the South East one quarter of said Survey No. 10.

3. Deed Record, Book 14: 162, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 31, 1906 - John Hartzler of Pawnee Co., Kansas, grantee; J. H. and Alice Buntin, grantors: 160 acres, Survey 10, Block D7, the South West 1/4.

4. Deed Record, Book 14: 163, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 31, 1906 - Christian Hertzler of Harvey Co., Kansas, grantee: J. H. and Alice Buntin, grantors: 80 acres, Survey 10, Block D7, South 1/2 of South East 1/4.

5. Deed Record, Book 14: 169, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 31, 1906 - Henry E. Landis of Hale Co., grantee; J. H. and Alice Buntin, grantors: 40 acres, Survey 10, Block D7, South West 1/4 of North West 1/4.

6. Deed Record, Book 14: 170, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    October 31, 1906 - Ben Martin, grantee; J. H. and Alice R. Buntin, grantors: 40 acres, Survey 10 Block D7, North West 1/4 of North West 1/4.

7. Deed Record, Book 14: 163-4, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
    November 6, 1906 - D. S. Yoder of Bellfontain [sic], Ohio, grantee; J. H. and Alice Buntin, grantors: 80 acres, Survey 10, Block D7, East 1/2 of North West 1/4.

8. H. E. Landis, "January 23, 1907, Plainview, Hale Co., Texas," Herald of Truth Vol. XLIV (February 7, 1907): 54.

9. P. B. Snyder, "Plainview, Texas, March 5, 1907," Herald of Truth Vol. XLIV (March 14, 1907): 104.

10. Benjamin Elias Martin obituary, Gospel Herald Vol. XXI (March 7, 1929): 1022 or 1023.
     Mennonite Church USA Archives transcription online: (http://www.mcusa-archives.org/MennObits/29/mar1929.html, accessed 10 August 2007).

11. Lydia Hartzler obituary, Gospel Herald Vol. XXI (Mar. 28, 1929): 1083 or 1084.
     Mennonite Church USA Archives transcription online: (http://mcusa-archives.org/MennObits/29/mar1929.html, accessed 10 August 2007).

12. Joseph K. Hartzler, "Plain View, Texas. Feb. 20, 1907." Herald of Truth Vol. XLIV (February 28, 1907): 84.

13. Deed Record, Book 15,:116, Hale County Court House--County Clerk's Office, Plainview, Texas.
     March 15, 1907 - Joseph K. Hartzler of Hale Co., Texas, grantee; Robert and Rose Dunlap, Cook C., Illinois and Madge J. Hagan, Shawnee Co., Kansas, grantors: 320 acres, Survey 40, Block A1, East 1/2.

14. P. B. Snyder, "Plainview, Texas, May 31, 1907," Gospel Witness Vol. 3 (June 12, 1907): 169-70.

15. P. B. Snyder, "Plainview, Texas," Gospel Herald Vol. I (May 23, 1908): 122.

16. Gladys Rastetter Mason, "Early Settlers of the Snyder Community," Hale County History Vol. 7 (February, 1977): 13.

17. Henry E. Landis, "Plainview, Texas, Dec. 29, 1908," Gospel Herald Vol. I (January 16, 1909): 665.

18. Cor(respondent). "Plainview, Texas, Feb. 23, 1909," Gospel Herald Vol. I (March 6, 1909): 777.

Site Map