Original Town entrance at Dorset and Wisconsin Avenues

The Somerset Historic District

back | forward to House Tour

The stone walls and pillars that grace the original entrance to Somerset at Dorset Avenue have stood there for almost seventy years. In 1935 they were built to replace a smaller and less elaborate stone wall and pillar entrance with a shelter, that guarded the then sole entrance to Town, and sheltered those waiting for the trolley that ran up and down Wisconsin Avenue.

We don't know exactly when the first stone entrance was built. An early photograph, circa 1906, shows two stone pillars flanked by lower stone walls that follow the sweeping curve of the road in a similar manner to the walls that stand today. On the north side there is also a wooden shelter standing on two stone pillars. We believe the original entrance was built between 1880-1890 by the founders of our Town as they began to develop Somerset Heights. In 1930 the Town of Somerset Woman's Club funded metal "Somerset" signs for the stone columns.

But by the early 1930's the State Highway Commission had plans to widen Wisconsin Avenue that would require the entrance be moved. From early 1932 through 1935 the Mayor, Town Council and residents struggled with what to do. The State would cover the cost of moving the entrance -- up to $100. And this amount would be allowed towards any changes in the structure. The first design submitted for a new entrance -- by a Town resident -- amounted to a whopping $1,200 according to the Town Minutes, but the Town did not want to incur any cost.

After canvassing residents, "the Street Committee were authorized to negotiate with the contractor for an entrance without shelter, obtain a sketch, engineer's plan and statement from the contractor as to the cost, if any, which will have to be defrayed by the Town."

The idea was that a shelter could be built at a later date, if residents wanted one, and indeed almost as soon as the new entrance had been built some residents petitioned for a shelter. The stone to build the new entrance was estimated to cost $70 (when the bill came it was for almost twice that).

The drawing (detail above and which can be found, in full, with the Minutes of the Meetings of the Town for 1935) shows stone pillars on either side of Dorset Avenue with lamps atop them and the north wall constructed, much like the original, with a gap for pedestrian traffic, and supports that would allow a shelter to be built at a later stage, should the Town so decide. The issue of the shelter, however, fizzled out in the months that followed the new construction, and the stone entrance remained denuded of such a structure.

In early 2003 the Town went through a much faster-paced decision to reconfigure its original entrance at Dorset Avenue and Wisconsin. The change was to accommodate easier access from Wisconsin Avenue onto Dorset by school buses and construction vehicles during the rebuilding of the Somerset Elementary School. The Mayor and Council contracted for drawings to be made of possible reconfiguration of the north side pillar, and asked the History Committee and the Parks Committee to meet jointly and make recommendations from four alternative plans. A joint Committee meeting was held on April 14, 2003 to select a plan. View the plan here.

Office | Email Staff | Home

@ Legal Disclaimer