Somerset  is located in central Ohio. The village was founded in 1807 along the Zane’s Trace, America’s first federally funded highway, which opened the new state of Ohio to settlers after the vanquished Native Americans ceded the land. Jacob Miller and John Finck, Pennsylvanians of German descent, each purchased a quarter township section of land in Chillicothe, then the state capital. Miller and Finck each built a two-story log tavern, so there was one on either side of the village providing food and lodging to the stream of immigrants purchasing land in the new territory.  In 1810 they began to sell lots in the village and by 1840 the town had grown to its present population of 1,550.

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Originally the county seat of Perry County, the area’s agricultural and small-business based economy has continued to this day. A weekly Somerset Farmer’s Market attracts residents and tourists to purchase produce and Amish baked goods.

The Somerset Historic District was placed on the National Register in 1975. The village’s Economic Revitalization and Heritage Tourism Project acquired 28 acres of green space for a public nature preserve linked to the 50-acre historic district by handicapped-accessible sidewalks. The project also sponsors a self-guided walking tour, an art walk, and an Oktoberfest celebration each year.

(Source: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)

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In the middle of the town square, you can find General Philip Sheridan perched high on his horse, overlooking the beautiful streets of his hometown.  On the corner, stands his niece Nellie Sheridan, Somerset's first female postmaster and one of the youngest ones in U.S. history.  Nellie at 19 sought the office and was first appointed by President Harrison in 1889 to serve until her retirement in 1930. You can read more about their history here.

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