Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Berkley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berkley is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #256 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berkley’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berkley’s 1.5 sits below most of its state (10% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1638.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points).
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 Berkley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The present town of Berkley, then belonging to the neighboring towns of Dighton and Taunton, was first settled in 1638. It was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1735. The town was named for the philosopher and bishop George Berkeley (1685–1753), who lived in Newport, Rhode Island from 1728 to 1731. The change in the spelling to "Berkley" was likely due to the carelessness of the engrossing clerk of the Massachusetts General Court.
Passages that mention Berkley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men1883 · page 188Read the page →
Read the text
His health failing, he located his family in the town of Berkley, Mass., and engaged in peddling general merchandise through the surrounding country. This occupation he followed twenty-eight years, during which time, however, he undertook a number of contracts on different railroads, in the carrying through of which he manifested much pluck, enterprise, and energy, and met with good financial success. He
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men1883Read the page →
Read the text
summer months. He then became partner in the business, which was continued but a year longer. He then returned home and established himself as a merchant in his native town of Berkley. Most of his business life has been spent in mercantile pursuits, having at different periods been engaged in merchandising in Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Boston, Taunton, Weir Junction, and Berk-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Berkley, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
In 1638, according to Wikidata. Berkley’s post office opened in 1818, and the first U.S. census counted 850 people here in 1790.
How does Berkley rank for history?
Berkley is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #256 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Berkley?
One place: the Dighton Rock (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Berkley?
15% of Berkley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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