Parish History

In 1692, during the English monarchy of William III and Mary II, Snow Hill Parish was established by an Act of the General Assembly. An entry in the 1711 Journal of the Upper House of the Assembly appointed the Reverend Christopher Wilkinson as Rector of All Saints Parish. The parish became known as All Hallows, which bears the same connotation as All Saints.

Early church records, destroyed when the Court House burned in 1834, erased a view of much of the life of the church. It is known that in 1734, the first church building stood near the banks of the Pocomoke River. In 1748, an Act of the Colonial Assembly assessed a levy of 80,000 pounds of tobacco for the building of a brick parish church to be erected on a part of the ground laid out for public use in Snow Hill Town. This is the present site of All Hallows.

Construction of the church started shortly thereafter but could not be completed without an additional levy of 45,000 pounds of tobacco in 1756. Tradition holds that the bricks used in the construction of the church were brought from England as ships' ballast. The ivy that covers part of the outside walls is said to have come from Kenilworth Castle in England.

All Hallows is proud of several "gifts" that were received from Queen Anne: a Bible, a silver communion service, a linen Eucharist veil and a bell. The bell originally hung in a belfry at the west end of the church. It was removed in 1891 when the slate roof was installed. It hung in the crotch of an ivy-covered cedar tree in the churchyard for many years. It currently hangs in the lych-gate. During the renovation in 1872, the box pews, galleries on the side walls, and the side doors were removed. In 1891, the present chancel, marble altar, reredos, stretched canvas ceiling and slate roof were built. Original window sash and clear windows were replaced in 1899 with the present stained glass.

The All Hallows cemetery contains graves dating back to the early 1700's including graves from both sides of the Civil War.