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Granite Springs NY, 10527

Somers is a town located in Westchester County, NY. 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 NYC metro area. Somers is primarily a residential community know for being the “cradle of the American circus”. It grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, after IBM and Pepsi built large corporate facilities within it. The Metro-North Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with an average commute time of slightly over one hour. Several stations are located just outside the town in Purdys, Goldens Bridge and Katonah.

The town was established as Stephentown in 1788. Confusion with another NY town named Stephentown led the town to change its name to Somerstown. In 1808, the name was changed to Somers to hone Richard Somers, a naval captain from New Jersey who 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. Bailer 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, with the High School sports teams nicknamed “Tuskers”. The Elephant Hotel is currently the Somers Town Hall.

Amawalk, Granite Springs, Lincolndale, and Shenorock are all Hamlets of Somers.

Four Schools in the Somers Central School District Services all of Somers and its Hamlets.

Government:

The Town of Somers is governed by a five-member Town Board, which functions as the legislative body of the Town and is responsible for the ‘health, safety and welfare’ of its residents. The Board enacts all policies and laws for the Town. The Board is composed of four Town Council persons, each elected to a four-year term, and the Supervisor. The Supervisor, who functions as the chief fiscal officer and the chief operating officer of the Town, is elected to a two-year term and has three support staff.

Compiled from Wikipedia and Somers gov. websites.

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