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AHistory
History · Berlin Township

Berlin Township’s post office opened in 1822, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #213 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 127 buildings. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1990.

1822first post office
4on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Berlin Township began

When was Berlin Township founded?

1822

The Berlin Township post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,457 in 19902020 census: 4,546204 years

How historic is Berlin Township?

A

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Berlin Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Berlin Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berlin Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #213 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berlin Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.8% of homes (±4.7) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 130 historic buildings, 283 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 79%

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berlin Township’s 283 sits above most of its state (97% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 130 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe Millersburg Historic District takes in 127 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Berlin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1994. Watch Berlin Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Berlin Township.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 130 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
130
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Peter Wise House
Boyd SchoolPomerene HousePeter Wise HouseMillersburg Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Greek Revival1
Boyd SchoolItalianate
Pomerene HouseBuilding
All 4 listings
Peter Wise HouseBuilding · listed 1980Millersburg Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

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

Help out

Start Berlin Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Berlin Township on the map, 1915 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berlin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Berlin Township on the 1915 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1943 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1962 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1994 USGS map1915Millersburg 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 Township.

The story so far

Berlin Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Berlin Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Berlin Township is one of the fourteen townships of Holmes County, Ohio, United States. It is at the heart of the Holmes County Amish settlement. As of the 2020 census the population of the township was 4,546, up from 4,252 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,252 to 4,546 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Berlin Township, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Large, horse-drawn wagons, including one (right) that carries visitors into a pumpkin patch at Hershberger's Farm and B…2016Large, horse-drawn wagons, including one (right) that…A horse-drawn Amish buggy heads up the hill to the large farmstead at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded…2016A horse-drawn Amish buggy heads up the hill to the la…A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin patch each autumn at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly exp…2016A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin…A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin patch each autumn at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly exp…2016A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin…A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin patch each autumn at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly exp…2016A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin…A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin patch each autumn at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly exp…2016A horse-drawn wagon carries visitors into the pumpkin…An Amish man tends to popcorn, prepared over an open fire at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded produce …2016An Amish man tends to popcorn, prepared over an open …Chickens, and what may be an interloping duck, at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded produce stand near …2016Chickens, and what may be an interloping duck, at Her…Decorative ears of dried corn at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded produce stand near the town of Berli…2016Decorative ears of dried corn at Hershberger's Farm a…Cow, close up, at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded produce stand near the town of Berlin in central Oh…2016Cow, close up, at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a gr…Fall display at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a greatly expanded produce stand near the town of Berlin in central Ohio…2016Fall display at Hershberger's Farm and Bakery, a grea…Map of Holmes County Ohio Highlighting Berlin Township2015Map of Holmes County Ohio Highlighting Berlin TownshipMap'Tis the Season Christmas Shoppe2007'Tis the Season Christmas Shoppe
People over time

Berlin Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00020002020Peak: 4,546

Between 3,457 and 4,546 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Berlin Township

Nobody well known was born in Berlin Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Emma P. CarrAmerican spectroscopist and chemical educator · b. 1880
Roscoe C. McCullochAmerican politician · b. 1880
B
Brand BlanshardAmerican philosopher · b. 1892
John A. McDowellU.S. Representative from Ohio · b. 1853
John Kissig CowenAmerican politician and railroad executive · b. 1844
R
Robert E. DickinsonAmerican meteorologist and geoscientist · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BerlinBunker Hill
Gone or out of use
Boyd SchoolschoolBuena Vista SchoolschoolMiller SchoolschoolSharp SchoolschoolSouth Bunker Hill Schoolschool
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Berlin Township
Abe A Yoder FarmBerlinDaniel J Miller FarmDaniel Schlabach FarmIvan D Troyer FarmJacob E Miller FarmMartins CreekMelvin J Hershberger FarmMelvin Miller FarmMoses Coblentz FarmNoah Beachy FarmRoy Burkholder Farm

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.

Walnut Creek TownshipIts storyB−Salt Creek Township1 historic placeB+Hardy Township8 historic placesA−

Questions about Berlin Township’s history

What year was Berlin Township founded?

The Berlin Township post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Berlin Township rank for history?

Berlin Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #213 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Township?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Peter Wise House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Millersburg Historic District, with 127 contributing buildings. 130 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Berlin Township?

12% of Berlin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (11), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.