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Somers, New York
Somers, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°19′18″N 73°43′6″W / 41.32167, -73.71833
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Westchester
Area
- Total	32.3 sq mi (83.6 km²)
- Land	30.0 sq mi (77.8 km²)
- Water	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²)
Elevation	381 ft (116 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	18,346
- Density	610.7/sq mi (235.8/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	10589
Area code(s)	914
FIPS code	36-68308
GNIS feature ID	0979503

Somers is a town located in Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 18,346.

The Town of Somers is in the northeast part of the county, in the New York City metro area. Somers is primarily a residential community known for being the "cradle of the American circus". It grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, after International Business Machines and Pepsi built large corporate facilities within it. The Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with an average commute time to of slightly over an hour to Manhattan (while the railroad doesn't pass through the town, several stations, such as Purdys and Goldens Bridge, are located just outside the town). The commute to New York by passenger vehicle is approximately between 50 minutes and 1 hour.

The town was established as Stephentown in 1788. Confusion with another New York town named Stephentown led the town to change its name to Somerstown. In 1808, the name was changed to Somers to honor Richard Somers, a naval captain from New Jersey that died in combat during the Tripolitan War.

Somers became known as the "cradle of the American Circus" after Hachaliah Bailey bought an African Elephant, which he named "Old Bet". Bailey intended to use the elephant for farm work but the number of people it attracted caused Bailey to take her throughout the northeast. Bailey's success caused numerous others to tour with exotic animals, and during the 1830's the old style circus and Bailey's attractions merged to form the modern circus.

Old Bet died on tour in 1827. Bailey later erected the Elephant Hotel in Somers in honor of Old Bet, and it was purchased by the town in 1927. It is a town landmark and was recently dedicated a National Historic Landmark. The elephant remains a symbol of the town to this day, the High School football team is even named the Tuskers. The Elephant Hotel is currently the Somers Town Hall.

"The Secret of My Success" with Michael J. Fox was filmed in Lasdon Park & Muscoot Farm.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Education 4 Communities and locations in Somers 5 Points of interest 6 External links

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.3 square miles (83.6 km²), of which, 30.0 square miles (77.8 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it is water. The total area is 6.88% water.

The north town line is the border of Putnam County, New York.

US Route 202 passes through the town.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 18,346 people, 6,802 households, and 5,169 families residing in the town. The population density was 610.7 people per square mile (235.8/km²). There were 7,098 housing units at an average density of 236.3/sq mi (91.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.84% White, 1.71% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 2.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,802 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.5% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $89,528, and the median income for a family was $103,950. Males had a median income of $78,678 versus $45,367 for females. The per capita income for the town was $40,414. 2.0% of the population and 1.2% of families were below the poverty line. 1.6% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The Somers Public School District is the public school district of the town of Somers. It is made up of an elementary, intermediate, middle, and high school for grades K-12. The Somers school district website is listed below.

• The Preserve at Somers
• Amawalk
• Amawalk Reservoir -- A reservoir in the north part of the town adjacent to US-202 and NY-118.
• Granite Springs
• Green Briar -- http://www.greenbriarhoa.com
• Golden's Bridge -- A hamlet in the town of Lewisboro with a Metro-North station.
• Heritage Hills
• Horton Estates -- A living community by the Amawalk Reservoir.
• Lake Lincolndale -- A hamlet north of Lincondale, near the north county line.
• Lincolndale -- A hamlet by the intersection of US-202 and NY-138. -
• Purdys (partly in the town of North Salem, New York)
• Shenorock -- A hamlet near the north county line by NY-118.-
• Somers -- The hamlet of Somers.
• Somers Chase-- The development on Route 202 1.2 miles East of the Somers Central School District's Intermediate and Middle Schools.
• Whitehall Corners

• [1]
• Lasdon Park and Arboretum
• Muscoot Farm
• Elephant Hotel
• Reis Park & the Wright Reis Homestead
• Lake Lincolndale
• Old Stone House (on old Route 100)

• Somers official website
• Somers Central School District Website
• Somers Town Page
• InTown Westchester Magazine
• Lake Lincolndale Property Owners' Association website
• The Journal News, the local newspaper

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Westchester County, New York
County seat: White Plains
Cities	Mount Vernon | New Rochelle | Peekskill | Rye | White Plains | Yonkers
Towns	Bedford | Cortlandt | Eastchester | Greenburgh | Harrison | Lewisboro | Mamaroneck | Mount Kisco | Mount Pleasant | New Castle | North Castle | North Salem | Ossining | Pelham | Pound Ridge | Rye | Scarsdale | Somers | Yorktown
Villages	Ardsley | Briarcliff Manor | Bronxville | Buchanan | Croton-on-Hudson | Dobbs Ferry | Elmsford | Harrison | Hastings-on-Hudson | Irvington | Larchmont | Mamaroneck | Mount Kisco | Ossining | Pelham | Pelham Manor | Pleasantville | Port Chester | Rye Brook | Scarsdale | Sleepy Hollow | Tarrytown | Tuckahoe
Communities and CDPs	Armonk | Baldwin Place | Banksville | Bedford | Bedford Hills | Bedford Village | Chappaqua | Cortlandt Manor | Crompond | Crugers | Eastchester | Eastview | Fairview | Golden's Bridge | Granite Springs | Greenville/Edgemont | Hartsdale | Hawthorne | Heritage Hills | Jefferson Valley-Yorktown | Katonah | Lake Mohegan | Lincolndale | Millwood | Montrose | Peach Lake | Pocantico Hills | Purchase | Salem Center | Scotts Corners | Shenorock | Shrub Oak | Somers | South Salem | Thornwood | Tompkins Corners | Valhalla | Verplanck | Vista | Waccabuc | Yorktown Heights

Coordinates: 41°19′41″N, 73°41′08″W