Before the town was named Somerset (part 2)
Jerathmael Bowers, Shawomet/Swansea's representative to the Massachusetts legislature, was always careful to consult with his...
Before the town was named Somerset (part 1)
When Governor John Hancock of Massachusetts signed a bill establishing the Town of Somerset in 1790, the community that became today’s...
The long vanished gristmill on Miller's Lane
As the population of colonial Shawomet grew, some small but important industries were developed that played a key role in providing the...
History of the Somerset Police Department
The Somerset Police Department can trace its beginnings back to July 11, 1683, when the governor of Plymouth Colony approved the...
Slade's Ferry impact on Somerset
Today's Somerset was called Shawomet during the 17th century, and Shawomet was somewhat unusual among early New England towns because it...
Stone walls tell the story of the Shawomet Purchase
The first map of today's Town of Somerset dates back to the 17th century. It is a surveyor's plan of the Shawomet Purchase, and it shows...
Somerset Pottery Company
Pottery making in Somerset began in 1705 and continued for over 200 years. Tradition has long given credit to the Chase family for having...
A "highway and railway" bridge
In 1872, the Old Colony Railroad Company received permission from the state to "construct a bridge across Taunton River...from Fall River...
Somerset; a transportation hub and critical energy source
Somerset enjoyed a period of great prosperity during the mid -nineteenth century, and the arrival of the railroads was an important...
The longest bridge in the New England states
Somerset enjoyed a period of great prosperity during the mid -nineteenth century, and the arrival of the railroads was an important...
