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History · Berlin

Berlin’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Berlin. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Berlin Township is one of twenty-five townships in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 659 and it contained 297 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 746 to 659 (-12%). Half of its homes were built before 1950.

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

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Berlin’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from BerlinWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Berlin.Meet them →
By decade

Berlin, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Berlin is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Berlin has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Allen School in La Moille, 6 miles away.

Berlin and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Berlin. Tap a dot.
Allen SchoolFirst Congregational Church of LaMoilleWood-Tellkamp HouseRed Covered BridgeOwen Lovejoy HomesteadPrinceton North Main Street Historic District

Closest to Berlin

Allen SchoolLa Moille · Built 18876miFirst Congregational Church of LaMoilleLa Moille · Building6.1miWood-Tellkamp HouseLa Moille · Built 18726.2miRed Covered BridgeDover · Built 18637.5miOwen Lovejoy HomesteadPrinceton · Building8mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Allen School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Berlin?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Berlin’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Malden📜 Dover📜 Arlington📜 Dover
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Berlin, ILBureau CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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