The house at 611 Main Street in Somers was built in 1795 and has later Greek Revival details. It was the home of Claudius Buchanan Pease, whose third wife was Mary W. Chapin Pease (1820-1889). Having spent much of her childhood in her mother’s hometown of Cornwall, Mary Chapin became one of the first students at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837. After graduating she returned to Cornwall to teach, but then in 1843 returned to Mount Holyoke as a teacher. She served as the school’s principal from 1850 to 1865, when she retired and married Claudius Pease. After her children grew up, Mary Chapin Pease ran the Elm Knoll Preparatory School for girls from her home in Somers. The house was converted into two apartments in 1925 and became a flower shop in 1985.
