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CHistory
History · Berlin Township

14% of Berlin Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1800.

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Berlin Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Berlin Township’s history

How historic is Berlin Township?

C

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
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 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berlin Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±6.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berlin Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Berlin Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19206 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1999. Watch Berlin Township change.
★ What stands out · 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Berlin Centre
1855–1884
Beach Pond
1858–1894
Beach Lake
1894–today
Laurella
1894–1910
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beach LakeBerlin CenterBethelEast BerlinLaurella
1cemetery inside Berlin Township
Vine Hill

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

On the map

Berlin Township on the map, 1920 to 1999

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 1920 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1944 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1967 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1973 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1983 USGS mapBerlin Township on the 1999 USGS map1920Damascus 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

How Berlin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berlin Township.

Read it all →

Immigrants (especially those from Germany) began settling the area before the American Revolutionary War, and the surrounding Brothersvalley Township was incorporated in 1771. Further settlement occurred by Revolutionary War veterans, so the borough was laid out in 1784 and formally incorporated on February 7, 1833.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Berlin Township, 1855 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Berlin Centre post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Beach Pond post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Berlin Centre post office closes
  5. 1894Post officeThe Beach Pond post office closes
  6. 1894Post officeThe Beach Lake post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905In the archiveBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905
  9. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Berlin Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 19051905Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905
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
Date unknown1 to date
Berlin PADate?Berlin PA
Today19 recent
Pine Hill St. Michael's Lutheran Church2018Pine Hill St. Michael's Lutheran ChurchHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fallHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (9)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (8)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (7)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (6)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (5)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (4)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (3)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (2)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (15)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (14)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (13)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (12)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (11)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (10)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (1)2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …Pennsylvania State Route 1602014Pennsylvania State Route 160
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.

Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905
Retake this viewBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905, 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Berlin Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018001850190019502000Peak: 2,192

Between 294 and 2,192 people in every census since 1800.

22 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Texas Township1 historic placeA+Lackawaxen Township2 historic placesBDamascus Township3 historic placesAOregon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPalmyra TownshipIts storyB−White Mills1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Berlin Township’s history

How does Berlin Township rank for history?

Berlin Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Berlin Township?

14% of Berlin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (21), 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.