1861 Map

1861 partial map of Somers Township, Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Location of Oakwood Cemetery
Corner of Highway 31 and Highway E

Background Information

The earliest settlement of the first pioneers in Somers Township occurred on the Green Bay trail, now known as Green Bay Road/Highway 31 and Somers Road/Highway E.
Shown on the map above, you will see the the C. (Charles) Leet property just north of the cemetery.  The Leet family settled on this site in 1836.  Carefully kept minutes of the first Somers town meeting in the Leet home were dated May 1, 1843.  As the community grew, there was a need for some sort of "town hall".  Sixteen years later, on April 5, 1859, the Somers town board met at the Charles Leet home, but before any business was transacted, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting to the new town hall which was located on the corner of the Green Bay Road and the Somers Road.  See map above.
The land for the new Somers town hall and the adjoining property for a cemetery was donated by Billy (Wm. Smith or W.P. Smith) Smith. 

 The U.S. Census Bureau, Wisconsin Department of Administration, sites the population of Somers was 1,277 in 1860 and we know settlement began in 1843 so we conclude that residents were buried in the cemetery before the land was officially donated for that purpose.