Former Snelling mayor honored for service

A lifetime of dedication was recognized on July 3 in Snelling when a monument was unveiled to commemorate a crucial figure in the town’s history.

Elbert Timothy Moore Sr. served the Town of Snelling from 1969 until his death in October 2009 at age 84. At the time of his passing, he was the longest serving mayor in South Carolina.

“It was a tremendous honor for the whole family,” said Elbert Timothy “Tim” Moore Jr., son of the late mayor Moore. Family traveled from Texas, Atlanta, and other locations to Snelling to honor Moore Sr.’s legacy.

“We started working on that project about two years ago,” said Moore Jr., who credits Snelling Town Councilman Carl S. “Brookie” Anderson with spearheading the project to its completion.

Moore Sr. began his mayoral service upon the reorganization of the town government. The Town of Snelling was incorporated in 1906 thus establishing a mayor and council. Due to economic depression in a town with little to govern at the time, the recently made government slowly dissipated.

“Snelling didn't have a lot going on for a long time,” said Moore Jr. “In 1969, some of the folks in town decided they wanted to reorganize the town government.”

“They had a meeting over at Dad's house around the kitchen table, and decided who they were going to elect as council and the mayor, and they decided they were gonna elect Dad as the mayor,” said Moore Jr.

During his service as mayor, Moore Sr. made many accomplishments to better Snelling and Barnwell County.

“His political philosophy was, ‘is it good for the Town of Snelling?” said Moore Jr. He explained his father grew up with the same philosophy he followed. He participated in politics not for honor or glory, but to make a difference for his town.

“He was an advocate for the town, he was an advocate for the county,” said Moore Jr.

“A lot of stuff that got done people never knew about. He didn't go out seeking attention for himself, it was all about the town.”

According to Moore Jr., one of the prominent things his father accomplished was negotiating a contract for a business license fee with Chem-Nuclear, who set up operations in the town and began bearing low level nuclear waste. The funds from that business license contract resulted in the creation of The Barnwell County Economic Development Commission which still exists today.

“He had the foresight to negotiate some good arrangements with businesses that came to enable the town to have some money to operate on,” said Moore Jr.

During his time as mayor, Moore Sr. improved recreational facilities as well by developing the current Snelling Town Park in the early ‘90s. He also built up the fire department.

“He was instrumental in getting some grants for the rehabilitation of low-income houses through the Lower Savannah Council of Governments,” said Moore Jr.

These are just a few of the long-lasting contributions made by the former mayor.

Snelling has a strong mayor system, according to Moore Jr. This means the mayor is directly elected by citizens and has executive power.

“Even though they had a strong mayor form [of government] and he could basically go do anything he wanted to do, he never did that. He didn't do anything that he didn't have the council’s support to get it done,” said Moore Jr.

“He was the sort of a guy that could go speak to people and get things resolved without making a big fuss about it,” said Moore Jr. “He didn't have a lot of formal education, but he was one of the smartest people I knew, particularly when it came to dealing with people.”

“Only one time in the whole 40 years did he ever have opposition, and I think the fellow got two votes that ran against him,” he said.

Moore Sr.’s interest in politics grew from watching his family.

“Dad was always very interested in politics. His father, my grandfather, was quite active in the political world,” said Moore Jr. “He had older brothers who were also attuned to that sort of thinking and just learning from them.”

The Moore family has been in Snelling since its incorporation in 1906.

“Our family has always been kind of involved in politics,” said Moore Jr. “Until about four years ago, there were seven mayors in Barnwell County and three of them were my cousins.”

The Town of Snelling is home to 250 people, according to the Municipal Association of South Carolina and the 2020 U.S. Census. Out of those 250 people, five are elected officials and three of them have the last name Moore.

Many members of the Moore family still reside in all 4.1 square miles of Snelling.

“On the town council, four to five are relatives,” said Moore Jr. “Dad died in 2009, and Paul's been the mayor since then. And he's done a great job.” The current mayor of Snelling, Paul Moore, is his first cousin.

“Brookie Anderson, who's another cousin, his mother was a Moore. She was daddy's first cousin,” said Moore Jr. Anderson serves on the Snelling Town Council.

Moore Jr. himself is also very involved in Snelling and Barnwell County. He currently serves as the town attorney and has been involved in various industries in the county.

Moore Jr.’s grandfather’s name was Rufus Richmond Moore, and he was one of the first settlers in Snelling. He and his two brothers were instrumental in building the town around the railroad that ran through it.

Moore Sr. was born on December 7, 1925 to Rufus Richmond Moore and Alda Sauls Moore in his family home that is now Miss Alda’s Inn, owned and operated by Moore Jr. and his wife, Scottie. He was the youngest of six children that survived to adulthood, four children passed away during infancy or at birth.

Moore Sr. joined the Navy when he was 17 during World War II after attending Barnwell schools.

“He ended up going to the Pacific and serving on a destroyer escort there until the war was over,” said Moore Jr. A destroyer escort was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a 20-knot warship. They were designed to endure escorting convoys of merchant marine ships.

After returning from the war, Moore Sr. took a job as a long-distance trucker driving from Florida to New York hauling produce and things of the like. He made a career change after an accident where the truck he was driving flipped.

He then worked on construction for the Savannah River Site until Milliken and Co., a woolen manufacturer, set up shop in the area. When he retired from Milliken and Co., he became a partner in Moore and Moore Cows of Snelling and did landscaping as well.

In the various avenues in which he was employed, Moore Sr. remained involved in local politics.

“He was very active in democratic politics over the years. It never was really about one or the other, it was about how we can get things done,” said Moore Jr. “He grew up thinking that public service was a way to help your community or your country or your state.”

He was also a member of the Seven Pines Baptist Church, Ellenton Agricultural Club, American Legion Post 46, and the Barnwell County Democratic Party Executive Committee.

Moore Sr.’s legacy will be remembered by each patron of the Snelling Town Park. To visit the monument erected in his honor, visit 400 Hill Street, Barnwell.