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The town was established as Stephentown in 1788. Confusion with another New York town named Stephentown led the town to change its name to Somerstown. In 1808, the name was changed to Somers to honor Richard Somers, a naval captain from New Jersey who died in combat during the Tripolitan War. Somers grew most rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s, after IBM and Pepsi built large corporate facilities within it.
Somers is known for being the "cradle of the American circus". It gained this notoriety after Hachaliah Bailey bought an African Elephant, which he named "Old Bet". Bailey intended to use the elephant for farm work but the number of people it attracted caused Bailey to take her throughout the northeast. Bailey's success caused numerous others to tour with exotic animals, and during the 1830s the old style circus and Bailey's attractions merged to form the modern circus. Old Bet died on tour in 1827. Bailey later erected the Elephant Hotel in Somers in honor of Old Bet, and it was purchased by the town in 1927. It is a town landmark and was recently dedicated a National Historic Landmark. The elephant remains a symbol of the town to this day, with the High School sports teams nicknamed "Tuskers". The Elephant Hotel is currently the Somers Town Hall.
Somers was in a minor dispute with Baraboo, Wisconsin, over which community is the "birthplace" of the American circus.