OLDEST - House in Atlantic County - Somers Point, NJ - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

"Somers Mansion, 18.7 m, (see Tour 18); Batsto, 30 m., Pleasant Mills, 30.3 m. (see Side Tour 23A); pine and cedar swampsa, 32.9 m. (see Tour 35)." --- New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past, 1939; page 200

This is the oldest home in Atlantic County. Built in 1725, this historic home belonged to the area's founder and harbormaster, John Somers. This is also the headquarters of the Atlantic County Historical Society. The mansion contains original eighteenth-century furnishings, including a local textile collection.

The following information came from a comprehensive website found HERE. "The Somers Mansion is the oldest intact house in Atlantic County. Built around 1725 by Richard Somers, the son of John Somers (an early area settler), the house was continuously occupied by the Somers family for over 200 years. In 1937, Somers family descendants deeded it to the Atlantic County Historical Society. New Jersey took ownership of the Somers Mansion in 1941, and began an extensive restoration.

The original house had one large room featuring a walk-in fireplace with its early cooking crane and a narrow, winding, enclosed stairway that led to two rooms above and continued to a large attic. The three-story brick dwelling is laid in a traditional Flemish-bond pattern. Interesting architectural detail can be found in the interior woodwork, which is decorated with heart-shaped perforations. The renovation done by the state of New Jersey eliminated ten rooms that were added during the Victorian era.

Today, the house is furnished, on an indefinite loan, with 18th and 19th century artifacts from the Atlantic County Historical Society. Many furnishings are from area homes of that era, but some are original to the Mansion. The Somers Mansion is the only State historic site furnished by one volunteer organization.

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Somers Mansion
1000 Shore Road
Somers Point, NJ 08244-2360
United States