Historic Somers Mansion springs back to life

SOMERS — Sitting atop a hill overlooking the small town of Somers, the mansion captures your attention while driving by.

“I grew up here in Somers passing the mansion, sort of dreaming about it as a little girl,” said Somers Mansion Owner Jasmine Morton.

Built in 1903, the mansion was originally owned by John O’Brien, who designed and built the town of Somers while operating a lumber mill.

• Click here to view photos of the Somers Mansion.

At just under 10,000 square feet, the mansion features 10 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms sitting on six acres overlooking Somers Bay.
“Before I bought it, it had been abandoned for almost 15 years and you know vandals had been through, there hadn’t been a real roof for that period of time, it was just in really bad shape.”

Morton put her heart and soul into renovating the mansion, restoring the beauty that once was.

“My favorite thing is the difference between growing up, you know you would see this old house on the hill, the Somers Mansion, and just sort of watching it actively disintegrate before our eyes and fall apart, and so to me now being able to see people gathering, the joy that weddings bring.”

Morton hosted 14 weddings on the mansion’s property this summer along with a number of community gatherings.

“Like local nonprofits have hosted events up here, you know community groups a whole slew of people, birthday parties, and watching everyone gather and getting to enjoy the space, having it contribute to our community has been really rewarding.”

Although the mansion is now fully operational, Morton said there’s always more work to be done.

“I mean it’s 120 years old and we’ve got several acres here, so it’s a whole slew of landscaping, projects and maintenance things that will come up as time goes.”

Morton said she has no plans to sell the mansion, making sure it stays community friendly for years to come.

“I’ve always joked you will pry it from my cold dead fingers, I love the mansion, I love being part of its story, I love that other people get to be part of its story and come in, and the community will always be part of you know it’s coming together again,” said Morton.

More information on Somers Mansion can be found here.