A Community History Project
Welcome to Somerset County Then and Now, an ongoing community history project co-hosted by Somerset Inc., the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, and the Mary S. Biesecker Public Library. This website seeks to present an accurate, accessible database of information about historical buildings and sites in Somerset County. We've begun our project by focusing on buildings and locations in Uptown Somerset, and we plan to expand to include historic locations throughout Somerset County! Visitors are invited to share their own information and anecdotes using the form below so that, together, we can work to build a more comprehensive community history.
Somerset's Earliest Days
In the very beginning (late 1700s), what we now know as Somerset was called Brunerstown. Ulrich Bruner, an early pioneer settler, had surveyor Harmon Husband lay out a town plat which he (Bruner) called Milfordtown; however, local residents referred to it as Brunerstown. It wasn't until 1795 when Somerset County was created out of neighboring Bedford County that the town's name was changed to Somerset.
