Its Register listings are the West Berkshire School and the U.S. Inspection Station-West Berkshire, Vermont. Its Register listings are the West Berkshire School and the U.S. Inspection Station-West Berkshire, Vermont. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1800.
The Berkshire post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, East Berkshire (1827) and West Berkshire (1838), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 172 in 18002020 census: 1,547220 years
How historic is Berkshire?
A−
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Berkshire post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Berkshire’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berkshire is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berkshire’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Berkshire’s 17.2 sits below most of its state (32% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.1 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 Berkshire’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Berkshire on the map, 1920 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berkshire. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Franklin Pond 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 Berkshire.
The story so far
Berkshire, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Berkshire yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Berkshire is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,547 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated village of East Berkshire.
Its first post office opened in 1806. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,692 to 1,547 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Berkshire, 1806 to 1985
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Berkshire post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Berkshire rank for history?
Berkshire is more historic than 76% 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.
What is on the National Register in Berkshire?
Two places: the West Berkshire School (listed 1993) and the U.S. Inspection Station-West Berkshire, Vermont (2014).
How old are the homes in Berkshire?
21% of Berkshire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
2017
2017
2012
2012
2010
2008
2004
