Editing Somers Point, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:Somers_Mansion-01.jpg|thumb|285px|Historical [[Somers Mansion]]]]
The earliest residents of the area were the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. John Somers was the first European settler in what is now Somers Point. Somers purchased the land along the northern periphery of the [[Great Egg Harbor Bay]] from Thomas Budd in 1693, making it the oldest European settlement in what is now Atlantic County. [[Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Great Egg Harbour Township]] was designated in 1693 from the eastern portions of Gloucester County, which included Somers Point. Somers named the area Somerset Plantation. In 1695, John Somers operated the first ferry service across the Great Egg Harbor Bay to Cape May County. His son Richard built [[Somers Mansion]] overlooking the harbor sometime between 1720 and 1726, which remains the county's oldest existing home.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Jersey State Historic Sites|publisher=New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection|date=January 3, 2018|access-date=March 1, 2018|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/historic/index.html}}</ref><ref name=Story/><ref>[http://www.somerspointhistory.org/uploads/3/1/7/4/31743223/trailofrichardsomers2014.pdf "A Short History of Somers Point"], Somers Point Historical Society. Accessed May 22, 2017. "Somers Point was originally settled by John Somers, an Englishman and practicing Quaker, who bought the land from Thomas Budd. Early names for the area were Somerset Plantation, Somers Ferry, and Somers Plantation, named after the first settlers in 1693."</ref><ref name="sp">{{cite web|publisher=City of Somers Point|title=Community Profile|access-date=December 21, 2017|url=http://www.somerspointgov.org/main/about.asp}}</ref><ref>[http://www.colrichardsomers.com/Pages/SomersMansion.aspx Somers' Mansion], Col. Richard Somers Chapter. Accessed May 22, 2017. "Somers Mansion, situated on Shore Road in Somers Point, NJ, is the oldest house in Atlantic County. It was built about 1725 by Richard Somers, oldest son of John Somers."</ref> Early names for the area were Somerset Plantation, Somers Ferry, and Somers Plantation, until the name Somers Point was established in 1750. Somers Point was designated as a [[port of entry]] in 1791 and remained one until it was abolished in 1915.<ref>[http://somerspointhistory.org/AN%20HISTORIC%20TRIP%20UP%20THE%20GREAT%20EGG%20HARBOR%20RIVER.pdf "An Historic Trip Up the Great Egg Harbor River"], Somers Point Historical Society. Accessed November 20, 2013.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=O-UWAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA804 ''Treasury decisions under customs and other laws''], p. 804. [[United States Department of the Treasury]], 1916. Accessed November 20, 2013.</ref> By the 1830s, when Somers Point became part of Atlantic County, it was a popular summer resort with several [[boarding house]]s.<ref name="hist">Barber, John Warner. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FkMVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA513 ''Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey: Containing a General Collection of the Most Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, Etc., Relating to Its History and Antiquities, with Geographical Descriptions of Every Township in the State''], p. 64. Accessed March 8, 2020.</ref>

[[File:Aero-view of Somers-Point 1925, New Jersey. LOC 75694737.jpg|thumb|285px|[[Panoramic map]] of "Somers-Point" with list of landmarks and images of several inset (1925)]]
Somers Point was originally incorporated as a [[borough (New Jersey)|borough]] by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on April 24, 1886, from portions of [[Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Egg Harbor Township]], based on the results of a [[referendum]] held five days earlier.<ref name=Story/> At that time, there were 48&nbsp;people registered to vote in the borough.<ref name="sp"/> Somers Point was subsequently reincorporated as a borough on April 2, 1890, based on the previous day's referendum, and was finally incorporated as a city on April 9, 1902, from all of Somers Point borough and additional portions of Egg Harbor Township. All were named for John Somers.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 70. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA262 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''], p. 262. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 3, 2015.</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=29 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 3, 2015.</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA287 ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 287. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed October 3, 2015.</ref>