The story
Read it all →How Somer Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Somer Township.
Somer Township changed its name from Pleasant Hill Township on April 30, 1860.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Somer Township
Somer Township dates to 1859, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
1859founded
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Somer Township began
When was Somer Township founded?
1859
Somer Township dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1882.
2020 census: 988167 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
What stands out about Somer Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Somer Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Somer Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Somer Township, 1859 to 1935
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1859FoundingSomer Township is established
- 1882Post officeThe Leverett post office opens
- 20th century
- 1935Post officeThe Leverett post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Somer Township
Nobody well known was born in Somer Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Leverett, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
LeverettWilbur Heights
Gone or out of use
Locust Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Somer Township
ClementsYearsley
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.
Urbana28 historic placesACunningham Township28 historic placesA−Champaign27 historic placesBChampaign City Township26 historic placesBHensley TownshipIts storyC+Urbana Township1 historic placeB+Stanton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRantoul Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Somer Township’s history
What year was Somer Township founded?
In 1859, according to Wikidata. Somer Township’s post office opened in 1882.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.