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A−History
History · Somers

Somers’ post office opened in 1821, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #100 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Most of Somers was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 233 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.

1821first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Somers’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Somers began

When was Somers founded?

1821

The Somers post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Somers (1828), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,306 in 1820205 years

How historic is Somers?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Somers post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Somers’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Somers is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #100 of 155 in Connecticut. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Somers’ overall grade.
Founding era1821, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±2.9) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 233 historic buildings, 226 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 36%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Somers’ 226 sits above most of its state (79% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 233 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Somers’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Somersville Historic District takes in 178 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Somers change.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Somers.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 233 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
233
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Somers Historic District
Somers Historic DistrictSomersville Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Neo-Colonial1
Gothic Revival1
Victorian1
Federal1
Eastlake1
Somers Historic DistrictNeo-Colonial
Somersville Historic DistrictColonial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Somers’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Somers’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Somers on the map, 1892 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Somers. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Somers on the 1892 USGS mapSomers on the 1921 USGS mapSomers on the 1946 USGS mapSomers on the 1953 USGS mapSomers on the 1967 USGS mapSomers on the 1972 USGS mapSomers on the 1984 USGS map1892Tolland sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Somers.

The story

How Somers came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Somers.

Read it all →

Somers was originally part of the Agawam Plantation in the 17th century. Agawam Plantation became Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1641 and in 1682, the Enfield Parish broke off from the Springfield settlement. In 1689, the first settler, Benjamin Jones, came to Somers in what was then East Enfield about a half mile from the current town center, it was only a summer house and in the winter, he and his family returned to Enfield. In 1711, several more families settled the Somers area to help start a village. The families of Kibbe, Pease, Root, and Megregory were the first to settle the area. The Village was given the name Wallop but was changed to East Enfield shortly after. In the year 1734, East Enfield became a town and was renamed Somers, after John Somers, 1st Baron Somers. In the year 1749, Somers joined the Connecticut Colony.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Somers, 1808 to 1999

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1808Born hereWilliam Strong is born here
  3. 1821Post officeThe Somers post office opens
  4. 1828Post officeThe North Somers post office opens
  5. 1846Born hereClara L. Campbell is born here
  6. 1849Post officeThe Somerville post office opens
  7. 1866Post officeThe North Somers post office closes
  8. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Tolland County - Somers - ED 7-13, …
  9. 1881Born hereArthur Stanley Pease is born here
  10. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1999Born hereHannah Soar is born here
By decade

Somers, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Tolland County - Somers - ED 7-13, ED 7-14, ED 7-1518801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut -…
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Somers, CT2025Somers, CTSomers historical marker2025Somers historical markerThrasher Brook, North2024Thrasher Brook, NorthSodom Road2024Sodom RoadSeptember 11 memorial, North2024September 11 memorial, NorthNorth Somers directional sign2024North Somers directional signHurds Lake2024Hurds LakeHurds Lake Dam2024Hurds Lake DamGershomBartlettBrownstoneMarker2024GershomBartlettBrownstoneMarkerFarmers and Crafters Market at the Four Town Fairgrounds2024Farmers and Crafters Market at the Four Town Fairgrou…Dawn Redwood, North2024Dawn Redwood, North1785 house, North20241785 house, NorthSomers High School2023Somers High SchoolPost Office2023Post OfficeSomers CT lg2010Somers CT lgSomers ct highlight2007Somers ct highlightCT-190 Somers fall foliage2006CT-190 Somers fall foliage
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Tolland County - Somers - ED 7-13, ED 7-14, ED 7-15
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Tolland County - Somers - ED 7-13, ED 7-14, ED 7-15, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Somers’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Somers, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001850190019502000Peak: 11,444

Between 1,242 and 11,444 people in every census since 1820.

19 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Somers’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Somers

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William StrongAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U… · b. 1808
H
Hannah SoarAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1999
A
Arthur Stanley PeaseAmerican classical philologist and botanist · b. 1881
C
Clara L. CampbellAmerican suffragist · b. 1846
E
Ephraim KibbeyAmerican explorer · b. 1756
J
Julia ChilickiAmerican rower · b. 1971
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Somers’s post office has been open since 1821. Another post office, North Somers, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Somers
1821–today
North Somers
1828–1866
Somerville
1849–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North SomersSomersville
Gone or out of use
Valley Farms Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Somers
New WestNorthWest

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Enfield7 historic placesAEllington2 historic placesBStafford2 historic placesAHazardville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrystal LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Somers’ history

What year was Somers founded?

The Somers post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Somers rank for history?

Somers is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #100 of 155 in Connecticut. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Somers?

Two places: the Somers Historic District (listed 1982) and the Somersville Historic District (1995).

How old are the homes in Somers?

7% of Somers’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.