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BHistory
History · Berlin

Berlin’s post office opened in 1867, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #221 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 65 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1930.

1867first post office
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Berlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Berlin began

When was Berlin founded?

1867

The Berlin post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1927. Another post office, Long A Coming (1812), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,955 in 19302020 census: 7,489159 years

How historic is Berlin?

B

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Berlin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1927.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 65% of U.S. towns, #221 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±4.5) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 66 historic buildings, 87.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 53%

New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berlin’s 87.5 sits above most of its state (85% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 66 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.

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 (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1927.

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 Berlin’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Berlin change.A historic districtThe Berlin Historic District takes in 65 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Berlin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Berlin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBenton Filling Station, 33 East Taunton…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Berlin on the map, 1888 to 1981

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 1888 USGS mapBerlin on the 1894 USGS mapBerlin on the 1942 USGS mapBerlin on the 1953 USGS mapBerlin on the 1967 USGS mapBerlin on the 1981 USGS map1888Mount Holly 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.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 66 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
66
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Berlin Historic District
Berlin Historic DistrictLong-A-Coming Depot, built 1856
BuildingsDistricts
Berlin Historic DistrictDistrict
Long-A-Coming DepotBuilt 1856

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

The story

How Berlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berlin.

Read it all →

What is now Berlin was known in earlier times as "Longacoming." The Lenape Native Americans used Lonaconing Trail to describe the travel route that ran through the area, connecting the Jersey Shore to the Delaware River. Another tradition cites early European visitors who found a stream at the head of the Great Egg Harbor River and appreciated the respite as being "long a coming".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Berlin, 1812 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812Post officeThe Long A Coming post office opens
  3. 1856BuiltLong-A-Coming Depot is built
  4. 1867Post officeThe Long A Coming post office closes
  5. 1867Post officeThe Berlin post office opens
  6. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1991Born hereLogan Ryan is born here
  9. 1998Born hereIsaiah Young is born here
By decade

Berlin, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Benton Filling Station, 33 East Taunton RoadDate?Benton Filling Station, 33 East Taunton RoadBenton Filling Station, Residence, 33 East Taunton RoadDate?Benton Filling Station, Residence, 33 East Taunton Ro…Benton Filling Station, Filling Station Building, 33 East Taunton RoadDate?Benton Filling Station, Filling Station Building, 33 …Benton Filling Station, Ticket Agent Building, 33 East Taunton RoadDate?Benton Filling Station, Ticket Agent Building, 33 Eas…
Today6 recent
Marie Fleche Memorial Library, Berlin, NJ, Feb. 20252025Marie Fleche Memorial Library, Berlin, NJ, Feb. 2025Centenary United Methodist Church, Berlin, NJ, Feb. 20252025Centenary United Methodist Church, Berlin, NJ, Feb. 2…Berlin Borough, NJ veterans memorial, Feb. 20252025Berlin Borough, NJ veterans memorial, Feb. 2025Berlin Borough, NJ Municipal Building, Feb. 20252025Berlin Borough, NJ Municipal Building, Feb. 2025Berlin NJ Depot2011Berlin NJ DepotCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMap
Every building

Berlin, building by building, 1917–1923

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.

Berlin fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Benton Filling Station, 33 East Taunton Road
Retake this viewBenton Filling Station, 33 East Taunton Road

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
People over time

Berlin, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019401960198020002020Peak: 7,588

Between 1,753 and 7,588 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Berlin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Logan RyanAmerican football player · b. 1991
I
Isaiah YoungAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Berlin’s post office has been open since 1867. Another post office, Long A Coming, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Long A Coming
1812–1867
Berlin
1867–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Reed CrossingSharps Corner
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Berlin
BerlinGate of Heaven

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Winslow TownshipIts storyCBerlin TownshipIts storyDWest BerlinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine Hill1 historic placeC−AtcoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLindenwoldIts storyC−Waterford TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Berlin’s history

What year was Berlin founded?

The Berlin post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1927.

How does Berlin rank for history?

Berlin is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #221 of 468 in New Jersey. 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?

Two places: the Berlin Historic District (listed 1995) and the Long-A-Coming Depot (1997).

How old are the homes in Berlin?

12% of Berlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (6), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.