Somers, Wisconsin

Somers, Wisconsin
Town
Location of Somers, Wisconsin Location of Somers, Wisconsin
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Kenosha
Area
• Total	30.5 sq mi (79.1 km2)
• Land	30.5 sq mi (79.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	679 ft (207 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,597
• Density	296.9/sq mi (114.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	262
FIPS code	55-74650
GNIS feature ID	1584173

Somers is a town in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,597 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Somers is located within the town at Kenosha County Highway E (12th Street) at the former Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific/Amtrak main railroad line north of Chicago).

History

The community was originally named Pike Grove on April 15, 1843 by an act of the Wisconsin territorial legislature, and became Somers in 1851. One story tells of a wealthy Englishman by that name whom the residents were hoping to entice into financing a rail line from Pike Grove to Chicago. Another transient nickname for Somers at about that time was Aurora, where for a time a post office operated with that name from the Willis Tavern.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 30.5 square miles (79.1 km²), of which, 30.5 square miles (79.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.07%) is water.

Berryville is a residential and business community located in the town of Somers, Wisconsin along the intersections of Kenosha County Highway A (7th Street) and Highway 32 (Sheridan Road). The community was named for the proliferation of strawberry farms in the area. The Berryville School was a community fixture into the 1980s, when it was demolished for new housing. Adjacent to the school to the south was the Mid-City Outdoor Theatre (1948-1984), one of Wisconsin's first drive-in theatres.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,059 people, 3,399 households, and 2,226 families residing in the town. The population density was 296.9 people per square mile (114.6/km²). There were 3,552 housing units at an average density of 116.4 per square mile (45.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.57% White, 3.23% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.10% of the population.

There were 3,399 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 15.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,608, and the median income for a family was $66,003. Males had a median income of $41,649 versus $29,516 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,837. About 2.4% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

• Shoreland Lutheran High School is a private Christian high school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
• The University of Wisconsin–Parkside is located in the town.

Notable people

• Conrad Shearer, Wisconsin legislator
• Margaret Landon, Author of Anna and the King of Siam

External links

• The Town of Somers, Wisconsin website