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History · Berlin

Berlin dates to 2018

Most of Berlin was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1958 on.

2018founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Berlin began

When was Berlin founded?

2018

Berlin dates its founding to 2018 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1898.

2020 census: 4768 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓

What stands out about Berlin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Berlin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Berlin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Berlin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Berlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berlin.

Read it all →

The town was originally known as Hobart, possibly named after Garret Hobart, a New Jersey Congressman who served as vice-president under William McKinley. A post office was established in the town in 1895, but was closed in 1903. The name was changed circa 1914 to honor the capital of Germany, the former homeland of many of the town's ethnic German residents. The new name was selected by John (Kritner) Kreitner. The town was incorporated in 2018.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Berlin, 1898 to 2018

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Hobart post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Hobart post office closes
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2018
    FoundingBerlin is established
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Berlin on the map, 1958 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berlin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Berlin on the 1958 USGS mapBerlin on the 1982 USGS map1958Simcoe sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Berlin.

Famous people

Famous people close to Berlin

Nobody well known was born in Berlin itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Channing TatumAmerican actor, dancer and model · b. 1980
Candi StatonAmerican singer–songwriter · b. 1940
John SparkmanAmerican jurist and politician · b. 1899
Holly WilliamsAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1981
Harold Guy Hunt49th Governor of Alabama · b. 1933
Malcolm R. PattersonAmerican politician · b. 1861
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Hobart, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Walkers Corner

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Berlin’s history

What year was Berlin founded?

In 2018, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Berlin’s post office opened in 1898.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.