Berea’s post office opened in 1867, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #90 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Berea was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lincoln Hall, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 70 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.
The Berea post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Berear (1854), Johnson's Shop (1861) and Whites Station (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 580 in 18802020 census: 15,539159 years
How historic is Berea?
B−
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Berea post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Berea’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berea is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #90 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berea’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berea’s 49.4 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 78 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Berea’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The history of Berea is tied with the history of Berea College, which was founded in 1855. The Berea railway station was created in 1882 as part of the Kentucky Central Railroad, and later the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). Berea was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1890.
In April 1996 a tornado went through the city, causing damage to about 800-1000 homes, with 20 percent of those being destroyed.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berea. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Berea 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 Berea.
Every building
Berea, building by building, 1907–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Berea post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Berea rank for history?
Berea is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #90 of 142 in Kentucky. 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.
What is on the National Register in Berea?
8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Lincoln Hall (a National Historic Landmark since 1974), 2 historic districts, the Berea College Square Commercial Historic District and the Berea Downtown Commercial and Residential Historic District, with 70 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 78 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Berea?
5% of Berea’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky 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 (6), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1926
c. 1930
c. 1930
2008
2007
2006
