The story
Read it all →How Berwyn came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Berwyn.
Berwyn was laid out in 1886 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was likely named for a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Berwyn
Berwyn’s post office opened in 1886, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1920.
1886first post office
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Berwyn began
When was Berwyn founded?
1886
The Berwyn post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Janesville (1880) and Jaynesville (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 205 in 19202020 census: 75140 years
Founding year: the first Berwyn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Berwyn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Berwyn’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Berwyn’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Berwyn’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Janesville
Jaynesville
Berwyn
18801950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Berwyn, 1880 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1880Post officeThe Janesville post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Jaynesville post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Jaynesville post office closes
- 1886Post officeThe Janesville post office closes
- 1886Post officeThe Berwyn post office opens
- 20th century
- 1955
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Berwyn, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2010
2005On the map
Berwyn on the map, 1955 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berwyn. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Broken Bow sheet · 1:250,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Berwyn.
People over time
Berwyn, census by census
Between 75 and 205 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Berwyn’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Berwyn
Nobody well known was born in Berwyn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
R
Robert D. BookerUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1920A
Amanda GrosserodeAmerican politician · b. 1975E
Emery BlagdonAmerican artist · b. 1907K
Kent McCloughanAmerican football player · b. 1940Questions about Berwyn’s history
What year was Berwyn founded?
The Berwyn post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.