City of Snellville history

Sawyer and his brother Charles left England March 18, 1874 and arrived in New York on April 1, 1874.

Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1878, James Sawyer left Snell, who was still working on the Dyer farm, and traveled back to England to claim an inheritance.

However, this was to change in 1879 when two young men from England, Thomas Snell, and James Sawyer, established a supplies store in the area.

Prior to 1900, 15-20 such schools were recorded in southern Gwinnett.

The P.O. served Snellville until it was closed in 1907.

Prior to the official incorporation of Snellville in 1923, it is alleged that the town was referred to London City.

-Circa 1930 from Gladstone F. Snell, first Mayor of Snellville

The P.O. served Snellville until it was closed in 1907. It opened again in 1932 in the Pate Building and has served the community continuously since, operating out of several buildings.

Britt's term of office the charter again become dormant and remained so until after World War II. When the charter was activated in 1947, Arthur Stancil became mayor.

In 1949, the city advertised for and hired a motorcycle policeman named Francis Bobb (aka "Sam Ketchum"). Sam was the sole policeman, managed the jail, and performed maintenance on the water system.

The city was without physicians from then until 1956, when the extended community built a doctor's office and recruited a physician; two physicians practiced from the facility before it was sold.

The two-story rock structure was a Snellville icon until it was demolished in 1966.

Doctor Edward Bowen came here in 1971 as a general practitioner and immediately began recruiting medical specialists, and spearheading a campaign to build a hospital in the city.

Gwinnett Community Hospital opened in 1980 with 103 beds (max). Today, the expanded hospital is known as Eastside and offers state-of-the-art healthcare.

After much negotiation and construction, on March 12, 2006 the city dedicated a newly constructed building that is Snellville City Hall.

27, 2011 the City dedicated a 30,000-square-foot building housing the police department comprising 56 sworn officers.

The existence and content of these letters was unknown until 2012 when the Snell family and the Snellville Historical Society were notified that 130 such letters were kept in England for a period, sent to a relative in Wisconsin, and held in trust there for over 100 years.

According to a 2018 survey, Snellville has a population of around 20,000 residents.