Somers : Connecticut
Somers is a town located in Tolland County, Connecticut. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 10,417.
History
1642 - Nathaniel Woodward and Solomon Saffery, two Boston surveyors, are appointed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to lay out the boundary between the provinces of Massachusetts and Connecticut. They end up eight miles too far south, thus assigning the frontier towns of Suffield, Enfield, Woodstock, and Somers to Massachusetts.
1706 - “East Enfield", as Somers was then known, is settled by Benjamin Jones.
1713 - The Kibbe, Pease, Roote, McGregory families follow Jones.
1724 - Somers asks for readmission to Connecticut.
1734 - Somers is incorporated by the General Court of Massachusetts and named for Lord John Somers of England.
1749 - Somers separates from Massachusetts and is annexed to Connecticut
1768 - Massachusetts again lays claim to Somers. Connecticut ignores the action.
1793 - Both states appoint Boundary Commissioners to run a straight boundary from Union, Connecticut to the New York state line.
1797 - The Commissioners recommend that a disputed 2.5 square mile tract be awarded to Massachusetts as compensation for its earlier losses of Suffield, Woodstock, Somers, and Enfield to Connecticut.
1804 - Connecticut agrees to a modified compromise, creating the Southwick Jog.
1838 - The Four Town Fair is established.
1930’s - The Somers Mountain Indian Museum opens.
1962 - The Somers Historical Society opens.
1963 - Somers State Prison opens.
“Little Sorrel", the favorite horse of American Civil War General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, was born in Somers. Town of Somers - History
