Somerset Church

From 1829 until 1991 the Somerset Church building stood on the Warren County side of Fields-Ertel and Montgomery Roads – where the Meijer gas station is now located. When commercial development in that area began, the Somerset congregation sold its land and in January 1991, merged with the Mason Presbyterian Church to form the Heritage Presbyterian Church at Mason-Montgomery and Tylersville Roads in Mason. The roots of the Somerset Presbyterian Church go back to 1801 when the Rev. James Kemper, the first installed Presbyterian minister to serve north of the Ohio River, helped to organize the present Montgomery Presbyterian Church. Ludwell Gaines was installed by Reverend Kemper on May 7, 1822, to serve the congregation.

Somerset Church, though small with membership never exceeding 125, was an important part of the community and in the lives of its members. There were Sunday worship services, Sunday school, and mid-week prayer meetings. The attendance at Sunday school was large when compared with the size of the membership. Somerset Church is the only remaining structure in which Reverend James Kemper was known to have provided ministerial assistance. It now sits quietly next to the home of the individual responsible for its creation, the Kemper Log Home.

Somerset Church arrived at Heritage Village Museum in December of 1991 and has now been restored to look as it did when first built in 1829. As a part of the Heritage Village Museum, Somerset Church represents the role religion had in the 19th Century. The Church will be open for weddings and other special events as appropriate.