Hidden away under a leafy canopy of trees off Wisconsin Avenue between Friendship Heights and Bethesda, the town of Somerset captivates the imagination.
“Somerset has a small-town feel. Residents are in and out of the Town Hall, checking on issues, asking questions, taking yoga classes, or just saying hello to the office staff and the mayor,” resident Maxine Finkelstein said.
The neighborhood boasts an enchanted forest of trees — including Yoshina cherries; pin oaks; red maples; scarlet and red and willow oaks; little-leaf Lindens; and Zelkovas. Somerset has an arborist and a gardener, and its 775 trees have been inventoried, which helps preserve its status as a Tree City USA.
“It’s a little oasis next to an urbanized part of the metro area,” said Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, who oversees the Town Council.
The enclave’s history dates back to 1905, when 35 families lived in the settlement, but only a dozen were willing to contribute cash or labor for filling mudholes in streets and repairing wooden sidewalks. The Somerset Citizens Association requested municipal powers to collect taxes and equalize responsibility — and the town became incorporated in 1906.
Today’s residents devote an enormous amount of energy to improving the community, everything from dealing with storm water runoff to the renovation of the bathhouse at the pool and supporting the Helping Hands program for neighbors who need assistance.
Houses have been renovated with careful attention paid to the original design. They sit on spacious lots and showcase a wide variety of styles, from Victorian, Arts and Crafts and “pop-top” ramblers, to Colonials, split-levels, Asian contemporaries and Modern structures.
Home prices range from the mid-$800,000s for fixer-uppers into the multiple millions for the most expensive digs. There are more than 400 households.
“It’s an amazing place,” said Bonnie Lewin, a real estate agent who also lives in the neighborhood. “It has all the community anchors for a high level of cohesion.”
Residents enjoy a number of activities. Recreational options include a swimming club, tennis courts and a batting cage. The community holds a Fourth of July parade, a doggie swim that officially closes the pool every year, a newcomers picnic, sledding down Cumberland Avenue, and the Somerset Elementary School Back-to-School Classic race — this year’s takes place on Halloween Saturday.
Like something out of “Harry Potter,” Somerset Elementary is a beautiful structure with resident Barton Rubenstein’s sculpture “Field of Dreams” gracing its entrance.
“My three children attended the school,” Lewin said. “I loved it when my kids were young. Cumberland Avenue is the place to be on Halloween. I recommend 20 bags of candy.”
