Most of Berkeley Lake was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1960.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berkeley Lake is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berkeley Lake’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berkeley Lake’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1956.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Berkeley Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The majority of lands in the city limits (the 700-acre (2.8 km2) Berkeley Lake Properties) were developed by Frank Coggins in the late 1940s. The dam, constructed in 1948, is one of the largest earthen dams in the state. The city's namesake, Lake Berkeley (77 acres (310,000 m2)), was named after Mr. Coggins' Berkeley Blue Granite Quarries in Elberton. In 1950 the Berkeley Lake "subdivision," which included five reserved Free Pass and Repass tracts (FPR) and the residential and fishing lots around the lake, was laid out. In 1952, Calvin and Kate Parsons, along with John and Dorothy Bagwell, purchased the Berkeley Realty & Investment Company and its 700-acre (2.8 km2) property.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berkeley Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Norcross 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 Berkeley Lake.
People over time
Berkeley Lake, census by census
Grew from 94 people in 1960 to 2,054 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Berkeley Lake’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Berkeley Lake
Nobody well known was born in Berkeley Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1956, according to Wikidata. the census of 1960 counted 94 people here.
How does Berkeley Lake rank for history?
Berkeley Lake is among the newest of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Berkeley Lake?
0.0% of Berkeley Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1990.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2026
2017
2017
2017
2017
2008
2007
2005
