 Snyder County was settled in the 1740s by Pennsylvania Germans from Berks and Lancaster counties, and became an independent political unit on March 2, 1855, when formed under part of Union County.Snyder County took its name in honor of the famous citizen and political figure Simon Snyder, who was governor of Pennsylvania for three terms, from 1808 to 1817, and made his home in Selinsgrove.The county seat of Middleburg was laid out in 1800 and incorporated in 1864.