 The town of Somers was settled in the 17th century as part of the Agawam Plantation (now Springfield, Massachusetts), was separately incorporated in 1739, and transferred to the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Colony in 1749.The area that became Somersville village grew around a sawmill and gristmill established on the Scantic River, but remained little more than a rural crossroads village until 1835.In that year, Spencer & Chaffee were the first in a series of proprietors to use the mill privilege for the production of textiles.