Portrait of Governor Simon Snyder

Simon Snyder (1759 –1819) was the third governor of Pennsylvania, serving three terms from 1808 to 1817. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to German parents, Snyder moved to Selinsgrove, on the Susquehanna River, in 1784, where he established a gristmill.

Prior to becoming Governor, he was elected as justice of the peace, serving for twelve years. Eventually elected to the U.S. Senate by the General Assembly in 1818, Snyder died of typhoid fever before taking office. He is buried in Selinsgrove’s Old Lutheran Cemetery. His residence still stands in town at 121 North Market Street, now known as the Gov. Simon Snyder Mansion, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Snyder County, formed in 1855 as a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was named in Simon Snyder’s honour.