Governor Simon Snyder: Pennsylvania's First German-American Governor

Simon Snyder built this home in the early eighteen hundreds and lived here until his death, and the house marks a turning point in Pennsylvania politics. Snyder served as governor for three consecutive terms, from eighteen oh eight to eighteen seventeen, matching the nine years served by the state's first governor, and he was the first governor in the state's history of German descent, a milestone that mattered enormously in a commonwealth where German-speaking communities made up a significant part of the population. Before reaching the governorship he served in the General Assembly from seventeen ninety-seven to eighteen oh seven.

His administrations were known for cautious fiscal management and resistance to the Federalist political establishment. He is buried in the Old Lutheran Cemetery nearby. The home he built here, on a quiet stretch of central Pennsylvania countryside, is all that remains of a career that reshaped who Pennsylvanians believed could hold the highest office.