Twenty-Five Interesting Facts About Somers

In 1607, a Native American village named Appamaghpogh was known to exist in what is now the area of Somers known as Amawalk. In fact, it is believed that a Native American burial ground still exists somewhere in the vicinity of Amawalk Mountain.

In 1776, after the Battle of White Plains, a large number of refugees from Southern Westchester County found safety in what would become Somers, thus contributing to its status as a part of the “neutral lands” during the war.

In 1777, the British Army crossed what is now Deans Bridge in Purdys as part of the campaign which resulted in the burning of Danbury, Connecticut. This military action later became famous as the event which prompted Sybil Ludington to undertake her famous midnight ride through Putnam County in order to warn local American troops.

During the American Revolution, the area that became Somers served as a popular stomping ground for American spies such as Enoch Crosby and Luther Kinnicutt, who served as the inspirations for the character Harvey Birch in James Fenimore Cooper’s second novel The Spy (1821).

The wife of Revolutionary War-era American spy Enoch Crosby is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, which is located adjacent to Reis Park. Mt. Zion Cemetery borders Mt. Zion Church (constructed in 1794), which is the oldest church in Somers and yet another town historic site that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1809, the Somers Museum, the town’s first official newspaper, was established and remained a prominent publication until the death of its editor, Milton Cushing, in 1811 during a local cholera epidemic. Today, the Somers Record continues the town’s storied journalistic tradition.

During the War of 1812, Somers-area woolen mills helped to manufacture uniforms for the United States Government. The most productive mill, owned by men known as the Miller Brothers, was located south of New York State Route 35.

In 1839, there were 4,580 sheep in Somers, more than twice the amount of any other Westchester County town.

Stuart’s Fruit Farm, located at 62 Granite Springs Road, is the oldest operating farm in Westchester County, having been established in 1828.

In 1849, menagerie owner Gerard Crane built the Stone House, which still stands to the Northeast of the Somers Hamlet along Route 202. This site, like the Somers Hamlet, is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1866, the Empire Sewing Machine Company was incorporated in Somers, becoming the town’s first major industrial enterprise. It was located in the area of town now known as South Somers, along the Muscoot River.

In 1884, farms in the area of Somers known as Lincolndale were sending 3,500 quarts of milk to New York City markets each day.

As of 1886, 10,000 barrels of apples were being produced annually in the Town of Somers at fruit farms, such as Stuart’s Fruit Farm in Granite Springs.

During the late 1800s, there existed a horse racing track in the Town of Somers known as Nelson’s Racetrack. It was located near where Woods Bridge is today, and was a popular site amongst Somers residents, who often owned 1-2 racehorses in addition to their workhorses.

In 1895, the first electric plant to power Somers in its history was established in Croton Falls by German immigrant George Juengst. By 1900, Juengst and his sons were charging $15 per year to power streetlights, $4 per year for house lamps, and $8 per year for lamps in stores.

In 1912, the area of Somers known as West Somers was given its current name of Granite Springs. The name was created as a marketing ploy to aid the Granite Springs Beverage Company, which claimed that the area was home to a “large never-failing spring of the purest cold water,” though Somers’s only commercial water venture ultimately didn’t pan out.

The Somers Hamlet served as the site of the first African American-owned Harley Davidson dealership in the United States, which was operated by local racer William B. Johnson from the early 1920s until 1977. The site where it stood still exists where TJ’s Autobody is located today, at 280 Route 202, Somers NY.

On May 6, 1937, the German airship Hindenburg was spotted and photographed over Somers en route to its fatal crash at Lakehurst, New Jersey, which killed 36 people. The photo taken of the dirigible can be found in the collection of the Somers Historical Society. That same year, the Amawalk-Shenorock Volunteer Fire Department was officially rebranded as the Somers Volunteer Fire Department, and its membership expanded to 49 volunteers.

In 1939, as part of a WPA-sponsored New Deal infrastructure project, Somers Middle School was constructed along Route 202. Prior to its completion, Somers students in grades 1-9 attended one-room schoolhouses, even after the Somers Central School District was first created in 1935.

In February of 1946, the site where Stonewall Farm stands along Mahopac Avenue in Somers was proposed as a site for the global headquarters of the United Nations. The proposal was vehemently opposed by Somers residents led by Charles Ward, a resident of Shenorock, and eventually defeated.

In 1956, the Somers Hamlet experienced a terrifying rat infestation after a local dump was closed, prompting the animals to roam in search of food elsewhere. The rats were even known to incessantly scratch on the doors to the rectory of St. Luke’s Church until the Westchester County Health Department intervened and exterminated them.

During the latter part of the 20^th Century, Somers was home to a Guerlain perfume factory. It stood along New York State Route 138, where Best Plumbing is located today.

The last train to run along the “Old Put” Railway line from Goldens Bridge to Mahopac did so in 1961. This train was a freight train, as passenger service between Mahopac and New York City along the New York Central Line had been suspended since 1950.

In 1975, Muscoot Farm in southern Somers opened as a public park for the residents of Westchester County. Today, it remains one of the most popular attractions in town, especially for visitors from New York City.

In 1987, a memorial to veterans of the Vietnam War was erected at Lasdon Park in Somers. General William Westmoreland, the former commander of U.S. Military forces in Vietnam was the guest of honor at the dedication ceremony.