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History · Berlin

Berlin’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Berlin. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1old images & papers
17recent photos
Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905, 1905 · Wikimedia Commons

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

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.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1905Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905Commons
1910–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Be one of the first

Start Berlin’s collection

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

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylv…, 1905: stand where they stood+15 📦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

1900s1 item
Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905CommonsBerlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 19051905
1910s–
1990s
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.
📷 Add from your album
Today17 photos
Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron ShawleyCommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (9)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (8)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (7)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (6)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (5)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (4)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (3)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (2)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (15)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (14)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (13)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (12)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (11)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (10)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Historic Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Shawley (1)CommonsHistoric Route 219 Oct 2016 early fall - panoramio - Ron Sh…2016Pennsylvania State Route 160CommonsPennsylvania State Route 1602014
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 Eugene Dorflinger Estate in Texas, 4.5 miles away.

Berlin and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Berlin. Tap a dot.
Eugene Dorflinger EstateHonesdale Residential Historic DistrictNarrowsburg Methodist ChurchArlington HotelKirk HouseWilmot House

Closest to Berlin

Eugene Dorflinger EstateTexas · Victorian4.5miHonesdale Residential Historic DistrictHonesdale · District5.1miNarrowsburg Methodist ChurchTusten · Greek Revival5.4miArlington HotelTusten · Building5.5miKirk HouseTusten · Building5.7mi

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. Eugene Dorflinger Estate’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

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Berlin, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 1905 (1905) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Honesdale📜 Palmyra📜 Texas📜 Oregon

From Wikimedia Commons (18). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Berlin, PAWayne 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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