Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Berlin’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berlin is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #41 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berlin’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 Berlin’s 170 sits above most of its state (68% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1763.
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 (±4.6 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Berlin was chartered June 8, 1763. The name refers to Berlin, Germany, and was the only German town name in this new English colony. The grantees who received the 70 original rights to the township were priests, merchants and judges. The charter was issued by the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, and stated that each "proprietor, settler or inhabitant" should pay one ear of Indian corn for each acre of land, and after ten years, one shilling for each 100 acres.
It took 22 years until the first settlers arrived in the area: Ebenezer Sanborn coming from nearby Corinth, founding the "Bradford farm", and Joseph Thurber from New Hampshire, founding the "Shepard farm". Both left a year later for New York state.
In 1763, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Berlin’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1800 counted 684 people here.
How does Berlin rank for history?
Berlin is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #41 of 71 in Vermont. 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?
Three places: the Currier Park Historic District (listed 1990), the Leonard, Chauncey B. House (1995) and the Bridge No. 27 (2006).
How old are the homes in Berlin?
13% of Berlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.
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