Snow Hill was founded in 1686 in Somerset County by English settlers, who may have named it after a street and neighborhood of the City of London called "Snow Hill" despite the location's elevation of just 16 feet (4.9 m) above sea level and the infrequency of snowfall.

Following the second fire, much of the commercial area was rapidly rebuilt, so the downtown today contains many historic buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Snow Hill Historic District, which includes approximately 80% of the town, was created in 2002.

[citation needed] In December 2010, a Snow Hill businessman started a petition to remove the town's incorporation and revert the area to county control.

The reasons given were lower county taxes, better services provided to the town, and a need for revitalization.

John Walter Smith House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Snow Hill is the location of: A number of Protestant religious denominations have churches in Snow Hill; several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: In 1999, some scenes of the film Runaway Bride (starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere) were shot at the Snow Hill High School.

At the end of each episode of Adult Swim's Children Hospital is an old advertisement for The Corddry Co Snow Hill, MD.

The lead actor, writer, and producer is comedian Rob Corddry, whose father is from Snow Hill.