"Where People & Trees Have Deep Roots & Grow Strong"

Historic District

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The Town of Somerset is a historic community so aptly it is home to its very own Historic District!

The Somerset Historic District was officially created on July 18, 1990, when Montgomery County designated fifty-four homes as part of a historic district. Of those fifty-four homes, thirty-one houses, all built before 1915, have the special "primary resources" designation.

Two of these homes are on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. They are:
The Wiley-Ringland House (more information can be found here).
The Salmon-Stohlman House (more information can be found here).

If you walk the streets of the Historic District, you may notice the plaques that some homeowners proudly display on their homes to show that they are historic properties.

This historic district includes the 5700 & 5800 blocks of Warwick Place & Surrey Street, the 4700 & 4800 blocks of Dorset Avenue & Cumberland Avenue, & the north side of the 4700 block of Essex Avenue 

Historic preservationists believe we are custodians of the buildings, sites, & structures that define our history. State law establishes preservation of historic resources throughout Maryland as a public goal of the public good. Thus, just as the Somerset Historic District belonged to those who came before, it will be preserved & belong to those who come after us. This does not mean that homes in the district may never be changed; it means that special care & attention is paid to ensuring they are preserved, rather than demolished, and that modifications, renovations & additions are appropriate.

The houses in our historic district are not frozen in time. Many changes took place before historic designation occurred; many have taken place since; & constant construction work throughout the historic district suggests there will be many more to come. The County Historic Preservation Commission reviews all proposed changes &, in making its decisions, follows the requirements of the Historic Preservation Ordinance & the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. More information on the County Historic Preservation Commission can be found here.