Founded
in 1856, General Samuel Harriman, returning from the Civil War,
settled on the mouth of the Apple River as an ideal place to
build a saw mill. Harriman named Somerset after the birthplace
of his father, who was born in Somerset England. Lumber and
agriculture formed the backbone of Somerset's early economy.
Today a few pieces of the early dams and sawmills can still
be seen along the riverbanks of the Apple River.
In 1876 he opened the Somerset Hotel. Two years previous he
opened the General Store which was sold in 1884 to H.S. LaGrander,
it then changed hands over the years until 2004 when a group
of 7 of us decided to purchase the historic building.
