Berne’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Berne. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Berne was settled in 1852 by Mennonite immigrants who came directly from Switzerland (Münsterberg, in the Jura Mountains near Moutier) and named the community after their homeland's capital.
Berne initially formed around a rail depot placed on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad lines. On Christmas Day 1871, the first train arrived at the local depot. A post office was established in Berne in 1872. After the population of the town exceeded 2,500, on a petition of two-thirds of the residents, the town decided to become a city in 1887. By 1895 the community was the second-largest city in the county.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Berne’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Berne’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo1 archive item has no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewBerne High School (c1910): stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Berne
See all 10 →
Berne, decade by decade
2000
unknown1 item
Nothing in Berne is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Berne has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Ceylon Covered Bridge in Wabash, 3.1 miles away.
Berne and the nearest listed places
Closest to Berne
Ceylon Covered BridgeWabash · Howe Truss Bridge · Built 18623.1mi
Geneva Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictGeneva · Late Victorian4.5mi
Gene Stratton Porter CabinGeneva · Building4.9mi
Bethel Methodist Episcopal ChurchHarrison · Building9.9mi
Grouping of Religious Buildings at TrinityWabash · Building10miHow a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Berne High School (c1910) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15From Wikimedia Commons (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.