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History · New Berlin

New Berlin dates to 1807, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1820.

1807founded
2on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How New Berlin began

When was New Berlin founded?

1807

New Berlin dates its founding to 1807 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 2,366 in 18202020 census: 901219 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓

What stands out about New 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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1929, drew every building in New Berlin.Old housesHalf of New Berlin’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1807: 219 years of New Berlin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Berlin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNew Berlin (Township); New Berlin Busin…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

New Berlin, building by building, 1887–1929

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.

New Berlin fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How New Berlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Berlin.

Read it all →

The first European-American settlers arrived c. 1790, after the American Revolutionary War.

The Town of New Berlin was founded by a partition of the Town of Norwich in 1807; it was named after Berlin, Germany. In 1821 the town changed its name to "Lancaster", but returned to "New Berlin" the next year. In 1853, part of the town was used to form the Town of Sherburne.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Berlin, 1807 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1807
    FoundingNew Berlin is established
  3. 1810Born hereLevi Grant is born here
  4. 1816Born hereDelazon Smith is born here
  5. 1820Born hereAnson Burlingame is born here
  6. 1830In the archiveSidewalltitle QS:P1476,en:"Sidewall"label QS:Len,"Sidewall"
  7. 1839Born hereHelen A. Manville is born here
  8. 1875In the archiveNew Berlin (Township); New Berlin Business Notices; Holmesville (Village); South New Berl…
  9. 20th century
  10. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

New Berlin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Sidewalltitle QS:P1476,en:"Sidewall"label QS:Len,"Sidewall"1830Sidewalltitle QS:P1476,en:"Sidewall"label QS:Len,"Sid…Document
1870s2 items
New Berlin (Township); New Berlin Business Notices; Holmesville (Village); South New Berlin (Village); Mc. Donough (Vil…1875New Berlin (Township); New Berlin Business Notices; H…New Berlin (Village); New Berlin Village Business Notices1875New Berlin (Village); New Berlin Village Business Not…
Today3 recent
New Berlin, NY, USA2012New Berlin, NY, USAHorace O. Moss House May 092009Horace O. Moss House May 09Roger DeCoster at Unadilla 19772007Roger DeCoster at Unadilla 1977
On the map

New Berlin on the map in 1910

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Berlin.

New Berlin on the 1910 USGS map1910New Berlin 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 New Berlin.

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.

New Berlin (Township); New Berlin Business Notices; Holmesville (Village); South New Berlin (Village); Mc. Donough (Vil…
Retake this viewNew Berlin (Township); New Berlin Business Notices; Holmesville (Village); South New Berlin (Village); Mc. Donough (Vil…, 1875

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 119 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
119
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

New Berlin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001850190019502000Peak: 3,086

Between 2,104 and 3,086 people in every census since 1820.

20 censuses, 1820–2010.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in New Berlin

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

See all →
A
Anson BurlingameAmerican politician, minister to China, and Chi… · b. 1820
Delazon SmithAmerican politician · b. 1816
Helen A. ManvilleAmerican poet, litterateur · b. 1839
Levi GrantAmerican politician · b. 1810
Rufus DaggettUnion Army general · b. 1838
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pittsfield1 historic placeA

Questions about New Berlin’s history

What year was New Berlin founded?

In 1807, according to Wikidata. New Berlin’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1820 counted 2,366 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.