How did Fairhill, Pennsylvania get it’s name? This page provides a brief history about the naming of Fairhill, Pennsylvania, the people who settled it, and the industry rising within it.
Village in central southwestern Hilltown Township on a prominent ridge about three miles southeast of Sellersville. The village’s first name was Schnabletown, so called from the Schnable family, and subsequently anglicized into Snoveltown. One of the first settlers was Abraham Schnable, a German blacksmith, who purchased a farm there and erected a log house and smith shop. The property is still owned by his grandson, Abraham Schnable the third, but the homestead log structures have all been replaced with more modern buildings. The village name Fairhill is generally credited to the remarkable long-range views to be obtained from a point at the east end of the village. It is alleged, under very favorable conditions, parts of seven counties-Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Philadelphia, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton-as well as the hills of North Jersey, are visible without mechanical aid, and with good field glasses territory around Delaware Water Gap may be seen. The name Fairhill gave way for a short time to Garisville after Noah Garis, the storekeeper, was appointed postmaster in 1890. The Post Office Department refused to accept the name Fairhill because it was identical with the name of a postal station in Philadelphia. The post office was discontinued at the end of five years and the name Fairhill was resumed, although it is still Snoveltown to most of the old residents. Between 1875 and 1890 a boot factory there employed twenty-five hands and a cabinet and casket maker did a thriving business.
Source: MacReynolds, George. Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1955.