A hearse drawn by four white horses was a hallmark of the Snowden Funeral Home, the first African American-owned funeral home in Montgomery County. George Russell Snowden started the family business in 1918 in Howard County. In 1926, he brought it to Rockville. His son Robert and his wife Alma took over the business in 1936. This second generation of the family demolished the original frame structure and built the current brick building in 1947. Robert and Alma's children, Irene and George, took over the business from their parents in the 1970's. Today, the fourth generation of Snowdens operates the business. In 1985, the Snowden family received a NAACP award for "community awareness, citizenship and human kindness."
