Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1800.
Berlin dates its founding to 1784 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berlin is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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’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.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Berlin’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berlin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Berlin.
From Wikipedia’s history of Berlin.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - …
2014Pennsylvania State Route 160Fire 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.
1898Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
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 · +15Between 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’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Berlin’s post office has been open since 1805.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1784, according to Wikidata. Berlin’s post office opened in 1805, and the census of 1800 counted 294 people here.
Berlin is more historic than 71% 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.
31% of Berlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1960.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), 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.
