The original shires of Esk and Kilcoy were amalgamated to consolidate the water catchments (or reservoirs) of the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.

The Local Government Reform Commission identified that the long-term future of Somerset would be as a major water catchment area for the South East Queensland region, with farming constituting the main economic activity within a water catchment management regime.

The Garumngar language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Ipswich, Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Somerset, particularly the towns of Dayboro and Esk extending east towards Moggill.

[9] Prior to 2008, the new Somerset Region was an entire area of two previous and distinct local government areas: The traditional owners of the Brisbane Valley district include the Jagera, Yuppera, Ugarapul and Dungibara people who occupied the region for thousands of years prior to European settlement.

[13] According to Henry Stuart Russell the early settlers of the Brisbane Valley followed in the footsteps of Walter & Patrick Leslie.

[14] They had "blazed a trail to the Darling Downs, marking the first tree at Wyndam's Stockyards, down the Severn River which they crossed near Texas and thence to the Condamine River between Tummaville and Ellangowan where, at Leslie's Crossing Place, the marked tree line ended.

The first settlers on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range as listed by Russell were "Cocky" Rogers with Mocatta's sheep at Grantham; Somerville at Tent Hill and Richard Jones at Helidon.

At the end of August 1843, the Anglican missionary John Gregor[16] spent a fortnight in the Brisbane River valley visiting all the settlers at that time.

He saw David Archer at Durundur and his guest Ludwig Leichhardt and then visited the superintendent of Kilcoy station, John Macdonald.

He stayed with John Balfour at Colinton, Graham and Ivory at Eskdale, Borthwick and Oliver at Buaraba and Wingate and Fletcher at Lockyer's Creek.

Approaching Kilcoy station Gregor had noted "a number of the aborigines, who were very vociferous in their calls of "Name you," but did not attempt to deal us any blows.

In 1842, race relations faltered after the deaths of up to 60 Aboriginals at Kilcoy station who were poisoned by flour which was laced with strychnine.

Baker's map of 1846 shows the relative positions of the pioneer families of the Somerset region around the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers.

Cressbrook is the only property still managed by the pioneering McConnel family, and both the homestead and its Victoria chapel designed by Robin Dods are now on the Queensland Heritage Register.

Other historical sites within the Somerset region representing closer settlement, railway development and a wide diversity of business and leisure interests include the Wivenhoe and Stanley Dams, St Andrews Anglican Church & Hall, Toogoolawah[26][27] and St Agnes Church and Rectory, Esk.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Esk and Kilcoy amalgamate.

Median monthly rain fall at the Esk Post Office in the centre of the Somerset region since records began in 1887 is 76.26 millimetres (3.002 in).

New greenfield developments in excess of 100 lots will be connected to NBN fibre optic as required by the Federal Government.