Snow Hill is restoring a little bit of history this week with the repainting of the “ghost sign” located on the wall of the American Legion Post #67 building at 218 W. Green Street.
A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building foran extended period of time.
The ghost sign advertises the G. M. Dryden General Merchandise store, owned and run by George Marion Dryden from 1891 until 1934 in downtown Snow Hill.
The building also holds a special place in history as the originating site of the great Snow Hill fire of 1893. It was at this store that the Snow Hill fire of August 1893 originated, burning down most of downtown Snow Hill, including the Worcester County Courthouse. As a result the Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1897. Mr. Dryden was instrumental in making this happen and was a charter member and one of the first elected officers of the Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Department. The downtown was rebuilt with brick in the late 1890s and early 1900s and most of those buildings still stand today.
The artist restoring the ghost sign is Scott Allred of “Brushcan Custom Murals & Hand-Painted Signs” of Asheville, North Carolina, and local Snow Hill artist Olga Deshields. Scott is known for his new mural designs, inspired in part by ghost signs. He was featured on the cover of Preservation Magazine in the Winter 2020 edition in the article “Faded Glory: The Restored Ghost Signs of Mooresville, North Carolina”.
The G.M. Dryden General Merchandise “ghost sign” is being restored through a cooperative
effort of American Legion Post #67, Downtown Snow Hill Inc, the Worcester County Arts
Council, the Town of Snow Hill, and private donors.
