Jacob Fitts, the first white settler in
the Town of Somerset came with his family from Mansfield, NY, about 1810
and settled near the banks of Lake Ontario, on a farm which has been in
the Fitts family until about three years ago. From until Olcott
(Kempsville) he was guided to Somerset by Burgoyne Kemp over a trail he
had cleared. In 1811, the first white child, Delilah Fitts was born in
the Town.
During the next two years, before the War of 1812,
several families settled in the Barker area, among them Archibald
Whitton, Philip Fitts, brother of Jacob; Truman and David Mudgett,
Zachariah Patterson, John Adam Pease, Samuel and Asa Coleman, Ezra C.
and Capt. Ezra Mead, Maston and John Sherwood, Herman Pratt, Francis
Albright, Peter Hess, Humphrey Sharpsteen, Silas Mead, Jacob Haight, and
Henry W. Denton, names that are familiar in the Town to this day.
After the war of 1812, James E. Mathew,
Samuel Palmer, David Barker and others cleared land and established
homes in the northern part of the town. The first religious organization
was formed by the Methodists in 1817, when meetings were held at the log
cabin home of Silas Mead. Afterwards meetings were held in the log
schoolhouse on the Mead farm.
In 1820, th Baptist group was
formed at James Sephen's home and a church was erected east of what is
now Somerset Corners in 1832.
The Society of Friends was formed
in 1821 and in 1836 a red brick meeting house was built on land donated
by Jacob Haight, who came to the town about 1815, and a cemetery was
laid out at the side of the church.
In 1824, the Presbyterians
organized at the home of Stephen Palmer and in 1840 a frame church was
erected south of the village of Somerset which served the Presbyterian
congregation until 1915, when the Methodist and Presbyterian
congregations united and the Presbyterian church building was sold as a
hall for the Somerset Grange, which had been organized in 1908, with
Elwyn Fox as its first Master.
Maston Sherwood was the first
school teacher inthe town, teaching in a log schoolhouse on the Silas
Mead farm. Records show that later a Jane Ann Williams, a member of
another pioneer family, taught school there for $1.50 a week.
James Mathews opened the first store in
the hamlet of Somerset in 1820 and in 1825 he was appointed postmaster,
the mail being brought by horseback from stations on what is now the
Ridge Road. In 1825 Mr. Mathews built the first frame house to be
erected in the Town of Somerset. Another group of Baptists met in 1845
and organized a church at West Somerset and the brick church, which
still stands and serves the congregation, was built in 1850.
Other post offices were established at South Somerset, (the Denton farm
on the Hartland Road); Lake Road, ( Pettit farm on West Lake Road); at
West Somerset, (at the home of Peter Hess); and at County Line Corners
just over the Town Line.
A red brick tavern was built on the
northeast corner at Somerset on the Samuel Palmer property, and several
years later it burned and a frame building was put up which housed a
store, a harness shop and a dwelling.
Grist mills were built on
several creeks in the Town and stores were opened at one time, the
hamlet of Somerset having five stores.
Many temperance
organizations flourished during this period. Somerset Lodge, No. 639, F
& AM was organized in 1866 and shortly thereafter a brick temple was
built at the southeast corner in the village of Somerset which was in
use until 1902, when the present Masonic temple, a three-storied brick
building, was erected. About the time of the organization of the Masonic
Lodge, a Town Hall was constructed which served for town meetings, shows
and entertainments of all kinds, being taken over later as a garage by
Frost Bros. and now in use to house the Town Road working equipment.
In 1875, the federal government built a lighthouse at 30-Mile Point,
which is still operating, though now with electric power instead of the
big kerosene lantern which was installed at first.
The coming of the Railroad to the Town in 1875
changed the picture entirely for the thriving little Hamlet of Somerset.
David Barker, "...[who] came to the area in 1815 from Vermont and
purchased 100 acres of land just east of what is now Quaker Road...
donated part of his land to the railroad company with the understanding
that it would construct tracks through his farm. The railroad was built
in 1876 and its original station now serves as Barker Village Hall and
library......Barker lived in a log house until 1854, when he and his
wife built a brick house. The house still stands on Quaker Road, just
south of "Main Street." Barker lived until the age of 92 and is buried
in the Quaker Cemetery on Haight Road.2"
At first the depot was
called Somerset Station, but it was soon renamed Barker after Mr.
Barker, as was the post office which was established there. From that
time on, Somerset was doomed as the business center of the town, all
businesses gravitating to Barker with its railroad, which continued to
grow and thrive until in 1895 a fire wiped out almost the entire
business section of the village. It was soon rebuilt, however.
In
1892 a Methodist Church was formed in Barker and a church building was
erected in 1894.
St. Patrick's R. C. Church was organized in 1856
in the Town of Hartland, close to the Somerset Town Line and served both
towns until about 1920, when a beautiful new church was built in the
Village of Barker.
In 1911, three school
districts, Barker, Somerset and "Gardner" districts, united to form the
Somerset Union Free School and a yellow brick building was erected at
the corner of the Quaker and Haight Roads. In 1936-37 24 school
districts of Somerset and neighboring towns formed the Barker Central
School District and a beautiful new school was built, connecting with
the original school. This school now operates a 170 acre farm, a machine
shop, and a boarding school for out-of-area students. It was and still
is one of the few schools in Western New York to establish a licensed
air field.
In 1915, seven years after it became incorporated as a
village, Barker built a modern water system, with a pumping station at
the Lake and standpipe in the village. Additions and improvements have
been made to this system from time to time to make it one of the most
up-to-date in the area.
A volunteer fire company was formed by
Barker and the Town of Somerset, the members being from both the Village
and Town.
Soon after WWI, an American Legion Post was formed
which has remained active through the years and which recently purchased
a building in the Village of Somerset, which is being remodeled into a
meeting hall. An Auxilliary to the Post was formed some time ago.
Another active orgainzation in the town
is a Lions Club, which was formed in 1951.
The Town also boasts
an Eastern Star Chapter, IOOF and Rebekah Lodge, Boy and Girl Scout
troops and many church organizations.
Another unique organization
of the Town is the Sunset Memorial Vespers Association, a non-sectarian
group which was formed in 1931 as a memorial to Milton Blood by his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Blood. The association erected a
tabernacle on the shore of Lake Ontario, north Somerset, and since then
a dining and recreation hall, sports field and playground have been
added. Meetings held here during the summer months attract crowds from
many miles around.
NB--This article is dated 1954 and
some of the "present attributes" may be antiquainted now.
1
Clarence O. Lewis, "Barker's Prominence Dates From Railroad's Arrival
Which Shifted Business Activity From Somerset," Niagara Falls Gazette,
17 May 1954, Niagara Falls Gazette's Special 100th Year Edition, Sec. B,
p. 18, cols. 1-6.
2 Amy L. Strauss, "Somerset gearing up for
175th anniversary celebration," Lockport Union Sun & Journal, 23 January
1998, Daily edition, p. 3, cols. 5-6.
Source: Written by Niagara County Historian, 1954, Clarence O. Lewis
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