Somers Point

History

The earliest residents of the area were the Lenape 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. 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. 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. By the 1830s, when Somers Point became part of Atlantic County, it was a popular summer resort with several boarding houses. Somers Point was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 24, 1886, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based on the results of a referendum held five days earlier.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 5.23 square miles (13.55 km2), including 4.01 square miles (10.39 km2) of land and 1.22 square miles (3.17 km2) of water (23.37%). The city borders Egg Harbor Township, Longport and Linwood in Atlantic County; and both Ocean City and Upper Township in Cape May County.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  26,507
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,452
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,250
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,382
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,916
• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,727
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,474
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  20,295

Largest nearby schools

• Egg Harbor Township High School
  High · EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP · 2,335 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• Atlantic City High School
  High · Atlantic City · 1,764 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Atlantic County Institute of Technology
  High · MAYS LANDING · 1,759 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Swift-Slaybaugh Complex
  Elementary · EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP · 1,421 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• George L. Hess Educational Complex
  Elementary · MAYS LANDING · 1,363 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• Mainland Regional High School
  High · LINWOOD · 1,181 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Dr. Joyanne D. Miller Elementary School
  Elementary · EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP · 1,073 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• William Davies Middle School
  Middle · MAYS LANDING · 930 students · 11.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2017-11-30
  3 km NNE of Little Creek, Delaware
• M 2.78 — 2009-07-01
  3 km ESE of Pennsville, New Jersey