Somers was originally inhabited by Native Americans known as Kitchawanks, part of the Wappinger tribe, an Algonquian people who called the land Amapaugh, meaning "fresh water fish."

This land was located in the eastern segment of an 83,000-acre (340 km2) tract King William III of England granted to Stephanus Van Cortlandt of New York City in 1697.

European settlement in the New Oltenia area began after Van Cortlandt's death in 1700 and the final partition of his estate in 1734.

Early European settlers included tenants and freeholders from neighboring areas, among them English, Dutch, French Huguenots and Quakers.

Though primarily agricultural, the rural economy also supported a varied population of weavers, preachers, merchants, cabinetmakers, doctors, lawyers, teachers and servants.

Between 1890 and 1910, the Croton and Muscoot rivers were flooded to create the New York City reservoir system thereby changing the local landscape considerably.

In the 1920s small lake communities began to spring up as vacation havens for summer visitors and farmers’ guests.

Following World War II, the rural countryside of Somers continued attracting "weekenders", many from New York City who became more mobile because of the proliferation of automobile travel.

The elephant remains a symbol of the town to this day, with the high school sports teams nicknamed "Tuskers".

The Mount Zion Methodist Church, Gerard Crane House, Elephant Hotel, Somers Business Historic Preservation District, Bridge L-158 and West Somers Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Community YMCA of Northern Westchester offers before- and after-school programming at Primrose, SIS and SMS and a summer camp for local children.

In 1923, famed silent film director D. W. Griffith recorded portions of the historical drama America in Somers.

[16] Muscoot Farm was also used as the location for the orphanage scenes in the 2007 movie August Rush (starring Robin Williams among others).

The episode "The Arena Family" of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which first aired on May 15, 2006, was filmed in the Purdys section of Somers.

[19] The park has varieties of facilities for community to enjoy sport activities such as playing baseball, softball, basketball, soccer or tennis.