The Somersville Historic District encompasses the historic components of the mill village of Somersville in western Somers,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, United States. The district is centered on a mill complex on the Scantic River, which divides the district. The most significant years of development were between about 1835 and 1935, although the area has a history (and surviving structures) dating to the 1760s. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1995. The Mill itself has since burned down and as of October 2018 is currently open field, although the canal structure remains in place.

Description and history

The town of Somers was settled in the 17th century as part of the Agawam Plantation (now

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

), was separately incorporated in 1739, and transferred to the jurisdiction of the

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

in 1749. The area that became Somersville village grew around a sawmill and gristmill established on the Scantic River, but remained little more than a rural crossroads village until 1835. In that year, Spencer & Chaffee were the first in a series of proprietors to use the mill privilege for the production of textiles. In 1853 the business was acquired by Holmes & Reynolds, which expanded the mill. It operated through the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, producing satinet, but closed a few years later. In 1879 the mill was purchased by the Somersville Manufacturing Company, which built the present three-story brick building, and greatly expanded and modernized its production capacity over the next decades. The company also built large numbers of surviving mill housing beginning about 1885, including a significant number of multiunit and tenement-style buildings. and The historic district is roughly T-shaped, the base of the T extending along Maple Street on either side of the mill complex. At its northern end it meets Main Street (

Connecticut Route 190 Route 190 is a state route in the northern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It starts at Connecticut Route 75, Route 75 in the town of Suffield, Connecticut, Suffield and proceeds eastward across the Connecticut River through the towns o ...

), which forms the top of the T, extending westward from the Maple Street junction and eastward just beyond School Street (whose section between Main and Maple Streets is also included in the district). Most of the district consists of vernacular residential architecture built for housing mill workers, although there are a few houses that date to the area's 18th-century period. The district also includes 19th-century retail buildings, two churches, and a school.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut Historic districts in Tolland County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Tolland County, Connecticut Somers, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References

External links