cutter to make their escape from her.At ¾ past 9 she blewup, inwhich unfortunatelyperished Capt. Somers, Mr. Wadsworth, Mr. Israel, Midshipman and 10 men. It is supposed that she took fire in the Our hero, , served in the magazine sooner than was intended, or that they NavyintheMediterranean underthecom- attempted tobe boarded bytheTripolitans and blew mandofEdwardPreble.Thisyoungofficer her up soonerthan suffer themselves to fall into the iscreditedwithconceivingacourageousplan.While hands of theTripolitans, as she had 100 barrels of in command of the Nautilus, he proposed to fit powder on board. The loss of those brave officers up and men are much to be regretted by their country the ketchIntrepid as afire ship and sail her into the and friends. Capt. Somers was as brave and TripoliHarbor and explodeher amongst the enemy enterprising an officer as ever stepped on the deck ships. Commodore Preble accepted the plan, and of a ship, possessing every virtue that the human the Intrepid was fitted with 1500 pounds of heart is susceptibleof …” gunpowder, a quantityof shells, shot, broken iron, RichardSomerswasbornattheintersection andcombustibles.Combustibleswereconnectedby of Bethel and Shore Road, Somers Point. a tube with the powder as a fuse. It was intended A Short History that the crew sail the vessel into the harbor under the dark of night close to the pirate ships, ignite the of Somers Point combustibles, and quickly row to safety in the Somers Point was originallysettled by John rowboatsbythetimetheflamesreachedthepowder. Somers, an Englishman and practicing The expectationwas that much ofthe enemyflotilla Quaker, who boughtthe land fromThomas would be destroyedbytheexplosion. Budd. Earlynames forthe areawere Somerset Plan- All men, knowingthis mission couldmean tation,Somers Ferry,and Somers Plantation, named theirdeath, volunteered.Theyincluded: Lieutenant HenryWadsworth, Joseph “Pickle” Israel,William after the first settlers in 1693. The land purchased Harrison, Robert Clark, Hugh McCormick, Jacob originally covered all of Somers Point, part of Williams, Peter Penner, Isaac W. Downs, James Linwood, and went into EggHarborTownship. Simms,ThomasTompline, JamesHarris,andWilliam In the early years it was part of Gloucester Keith. County, becauseAtlantic Countyhad not yetbeen On the eve of September 3, 1804, the named. Intrepid sailed intoTripoli Harbor. Upon entering The name Somers Point was adopted in the harbor,several shots were heard bythe waiting 1750. It was a seafaring town and sloops, schoo- fleet of Commodore Preble outside the harbor. ners, and barges were built in the many shipyards Watchingandwaiting,asuddenexplosionwasseen. located along the Greate Egg Harbor Bay, Greate Preeble’sfleetkept vigilthroughout thenight, but no Egg Harbor River, and Patcong Creek. The Sooy sign of Richard and his crew appeared. Boatworks was located on Shore Road, and the Accordingto the journal of a seaman in the completed ships were rolled on logs down Shore squadron, “…the Ketch USS Intrepid got under Road to DelawareAvenue, and then down to the way and was sent into as a . bay.Shipbuildingand life along thewaterways was Commanded by Capt. Somers, he had our green a very importantpart of life in early Somers Point. 1. Birthplace of and plain glass windows. It now serves as the 9. Somers Family Cemetery Richard Somers, USN local historical museum. Phone for hours: (609) The headstones in the small family plot mark the Marker shows the birthplace of Richard Somers– 927-2900. County and city historical plaque. graves of early members of the Somers family born 1778, died 1804. Numerous memorials through the 1800s.The large monument marks were given to Master Commandant Somers, 5. Somers Point City Hall / Richard the resting place of Richard L. Somers and his including the honor of having seven ships named Somers Display wives, the last Somers’ owners of the Mansion. USS Somers, and a monument at the US Naval This 1985 building houses municipal offices and Academy at Annapolis, MD. police headquarters. In the council chambers is 10. Job’s Ferry Marker a permanent photo exhibit from the US Naval This location was named for John Somers’ 11th 2. Site of Colonel Richard Somers Archives honoring Richard Somers, naval hero. child. In 1695 John Somers was granted Tavern and Homestead, circa 1771, permission to join Great Egg Harbor and Cape later called the Deborah Jane Somers 6. Richard Somers Monument, Park, May County by means of a ferry across the Great Anderson House and Mural Egg Harbor Bay near this location. A flat boat with Col. Richard Somers was prominent in the The monument dedicated to Barbary War hero tiller and oar ferried people and merchandise. A Revolutionary War, engaging in privateering, Richard Somers, who died in the explosion of single crossing cost 12 pence per person. holding interest in several schooners and the the Intrepid in Tripoli, , was dedicated in • militia. The present home served as an inn and 2013. The bronze bust duplicates the bust from Printing for this material is made possible through a grant by South Jersey Industries tavern, and was later the home of Deborah Jane Somers, New York, sculpted by Luigi Badia. Somers Anderson, daughter of Richard L. and the Somers Point Business Association. Somers, the last Somers to own the Mansion. Produced by the Somers Point Heritage 7. Atlantic County Historical Society Tourism Committee. Go inside to see where the old structure (907 Shore Road) connects with the new by means of a glass • The Atlantic County Historical Society has been For more information visit: atrium. County and city historical plaque. preserving the history of Atlantic County and www.somerspointhistory.org southern New Jersey since 1913. Volunteer staff www.atlanticcountyhistoricalsocietynj.org 3. Colonel Richard Somers Family is available to assist visiting researchers and Burial Plot / New York Avenue School genealogists in the library, which is the largest Original gravestones of the Col. Richard Somers repository of historical and genealogical family, circa 1790, are in the south wall. The documents in the county. Free, guided tours are monument in the center of the plot, erected in offered in the museum, where more than 20,000 1850, is dedicated to Master Commandant pieces of local history are waiting to be Richard Somers, USN, who died September 4, discovered. Library and museum hours are 1804, in the . New York Avenue Wednesday - Saturday, 10 AM to 3:30 PM (609) School, built in 1912, replaced a small wooden 927-5218. schoolhouse adjacent to the burial plot. It is used today as Administration Offices, as well as Pre K and K classes. 8. Historic Somers Mansion Built between 1720 and 1726 by Richard Somers, son of John Somers, the first area settler, it is 4. Somers Point Historical Museum Atlantic County’s oldest house still standing. It is (745 Shore Road - next to City Hall) listed on the State and National Registers of This building, originally the West Jersey Baptist Historic Places, and the Historic American Church, was built in 1886 on land donated by Buildings Survey. Owned by the State of New Jesse Somers. The one-story frame structure is Colonial-style architecture, with a small belfry Jersey; Call for hours: (609) 927-2212.