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A−History
History · Berlin

Berlin dates to 1665, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #195 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1665founded
3on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Berlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Berlin began, and where its name came from

When was Berlin founded?

1665

Berlin dates its founding to 1665 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 512 in 17902020 census: 3,158361 years

How did Berlin get its name?

Berlin was named "Berlin" as a district in 1784, and incorporated as a town in 1812.

How historic is Berlin?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1828. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Berlin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berlin is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #195 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1665, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194022.3% of homes (±8.3) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 8.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 31%

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 Berlin’s 8.9 sits below most of its state (27% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). Two sources give 1665.

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 Berlin’s past

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

On the map since 18878 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1997. Watch Berlin change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1665, 111 years before the Declaration of Independence.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Berlin, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the map

Berlin on the map, 1887 to 1997

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 1887 USGS mapBerlin on the 1896 USGS mapBerlin on the 1943 USGS mapBerlin on the 1950 USGS mapBerlin on the 1965 USGS mapBerlin on the 1975 USGS mapBerlin on the 1988 USGS mapBerlin on the 1997 USGS map1887Marlboro sheet · 1:62,500

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

Timeline

Berlin, 1665 to 1956

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1665
    FoundingBerlin is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1780BuiltBullard House is built
  5. 1795In the archivePlan of Berlin, made by Nathaniel Longley Jr., dated May, 1795. - DPLA - e77097768e115de3…
  6. 19th century
  7. 1828Post officeThe Berlin post office opens
  8. 1868Post officeThe West Berlin post office opens
  9. 1870BuiltBerlin Town Hall is built
  10. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1891Post officeThe South Berlin post office opens
  12. 1896In the archiveWachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the east, Berlin, Mass., May 23, 1896 - DPLA - 0336022e3…
  13. 20th century
  14. 1902In the archiveRelocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. Sawyer's house and barn, from Berlin …
  15. 1907Born hereRuth Rice Puffer is born here
  16. 1956Post officeThe West Berlin post office closes
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Berlin’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, West Berlin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Berlin
1828–today
West Berlin
1868–1956
South Berlin
1891–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CartervilleEast BerlinSouth BerlinSouth BoltonWest Berlin
Gone or out of use
Berlin Landing Area AirportairportCartervillelocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Berlin
CenterNorthPleasant StreetSouth Berlin

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

The story

How Berlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berlin.

Read it all →

Berlin was home to the Nashaway, and Sachem Sholan deeded part of the town's land to settlers in 1643. Berlin was first settled in 1665. It was named "Berlin" as a district in 1784, and incorporated as a town in 1812. The pronunciation (which unlike the German city emphasizes the first syllable) is believed to date from 1784.

ChaptersTown Hall

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Berlin in 1879

Passages that mention Berlin, cut from the printed page as they were published.

as instructor in the Boston Latin School, where he remained nearly two years. October 13, 1877, he sailed for Hanover, Germany. After having mastered the German language, preparatory to a course of study, he entered the Berlin University, in Berlin, Germany, where he is at present (1879) studying. …
History of Grafton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its early settlement by the Indians in 1647 to the present time, 1879. Including the genealogies of seventy-nine of the older families1879 · page 601Read the page →
Read the text

as instructor in the Boston Latin School, where he remained nearly two years. October 13, 1877, he sailed for Hanover, Germany. After having mastered the German language, preparatory to a course of study, he entered the Berlin University, in Berlin, Germany, where he is at present (1879) studying. He is fitting himself especially in the study of history.

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

Berlin, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Plan of Berlin, made by Nathaniel Longley Jr., dated May, 1795. - DPLA - e77097768e115de36f49545e0d860eaa1795Plan of Berlin, made by Nathaniel Longley Jr., dated …Map
1890s–1900s9 items
Wachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the east, Berlin, Mass., May 23, 1896 - DPLA - 0336022e316c50a224f686014af1ea6e1896Wachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the east, Berlin, Ma…N.A. Berlin - Italian Camp Sec. 4 - Oct. 19, 18961896N.A. Berlin - Italian Camp Sec. 4 - Oct. 19, 1896Wachusett Aqueduct, Italian laborers village, Berlin, Mass., 1897 - DPLA - ce4ba40864605528946fd0a3ca61bd241897Wachusett Aqueduct, Italian laborers village, Berlin,…Wachusett Aqueduct, Lyman Fund, station 156, Berlin, Mass., Aug. 9, 1899 - DPLA - dd34daac91231d56ae5fd3576f813fd21899Wachusett Aqueduct, Lyman Fund, station 156, Berlin, …Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. Sawyer's house and barn, from Berlin Road, Berlin, Mass., Apr. 28, …1902Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. S…Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. Sawyer's house and barn, from west, looking easterly about 75 feet …1902Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. S…Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. Sawyer's house and barn, looking southeasterly, Berlin, Mass., Apr.…1902Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. S…Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. Sawyer's house and barn, looking southeasterly, Berlin, Mass., Apr.…1902Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Ivers H. S…Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Jonas H. Carter's house and barn, looking easterly from road about 15 feet s…1902Relocation Central Massachusetts Railroad, Jonas H. C…
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Wachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the east, Berlin, Mass., May 23, 1896 - DPLA - 0336022e316c50a224f686014af1ea6e
Retake this viewWachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the east, Berlin, Mass., May 23, 1896 - DPLA - 0336022e316c50a224f686014af1ea6e, 1896

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Berlin’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Berlin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Wachusett Aqueduct Linear District
Wachusett Aqueduct Linear DistrictBerlin Town Hall, built 1870Bullard House, built 1780
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Federal1
Wachusett Aqueduct Linear DistrictDistrict
Berlin Town HallItalianate · Built 1870
Bullard HouseFederal · Built 1780

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Berlin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500180018501900195020003,158

Grew from 512 people in 1790 to 3,158 in 2020, 6 times over.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Berlin’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Berlin’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWachusett Aqueduct, portal, from the ea…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Clinton10 historic placesA+Hudson3 historic placesA−Marlborough16 historic placesABolton5 historic placesANorthborough1 historic placeBBoylston2 historic placesB+

Questions about Berlin’s history

What year was Berlin founded?

In 1665, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Berlin’s post office opened in 1828, and the first U.S. census counted 512 people here in 1790.

How does Berlin rank for history?

Berlin is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #195 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 Berlin?

Three places: the Wachusett Aqueduct Linear District (listed 1990), the Berlin Town Hall (2011) and the Bullard House (2011).

How old are the homes in Berlin?

22% of Berlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1992.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.