Somerville was incorporated in 1819, the same year Alabama became the twenty-second state in the Union, and served as the county seat of Morgan County from 1819 until 1891. It was named after Lt. Robert Summerville, whose name was later respelled, and who was killed in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. During the Civil War, documentation shows that Somerville was briefly invaded by the Seventy-Third Indiana Infantry. Throughout the nineteenth century, the small town thrived as home to a cabinetmaker's shop, post office, cotton gin, law office, and a variety of local stores, while travelers could stay at the Somerville Inn or the Stuart Hotel and students could pursue higher education at the Somerville Male Academy or Morgan County College. The historic Somerville Courthouse was established in 1837 and is currently the oldest original standing courthouse in the state of Alabama. On December 1, 1955, the town government was reorganized to be governed by a mayor and town council.