Somerset is a village in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, along the Apple River. The population was 2,635 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Somerset. Somerset was named by General Samuel Harriman after his father's home of Somerset, England. Somerset has a lengthy and colorful history. Before the turn of the century Somerset …Somerset is a village in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, along the Apple River. The population was 2,635 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Somerset. Somerset was named by General Samuel Harriman after his father's home of Somerset, England. Somerset has a lengthy and colorful history. Before the turn of the century Somerset was bordered on the south by cranberry bogs. The terrain naturally lent itself to the production of cranberries as a result of the hilliness of the area, which is dotted with ponds, sloughs, swamps and bogs. These wet areas became of greater interest to the local population during Prohibition. These same low spots where water collected became ideal for collecting water for the production of moonshine. Indeed, Somerset already had a history of being a rough logging town, and it was only a natural progression to become the supplier of bootlegged alcohol to the twin cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. After Prohibition ended, the citizens of Somerset returned to the more humble activities of logging and farming.
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