Berlin is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in central Berlin Township, Holmes County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,447. Located in Ohio's Amish Country, the village is part of a large regional tourism industry.

History

BerlinHolmesCountyOhioLookingEastCirca1909

The village of Berlin - the oldest existing village in Holmes County - was first planned on July 2, 1816, by John Swigert, a native of

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

. Swigert's plan provided for 108 lots to be arrayed along two streets, one north-south and the other east-west. Another early settler, Joseph Troyer, hailed from

Berlin, Pennsylvania Berlin, a borough located approximately 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,004 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The to ...

, and together Swigert and Troyer bestowed upon the new settlement the shared name of their respective home towns. Berlin is located at a high point in Holmes County, and local legend holds that Swigert chose the site because, thus situated, the town could be more readily defended against Indian attack. A large share of the early settlers of the Berlin area were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

ancestry and came to Ohio via

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1818, a school was established in Berlin and in 1822 a post office. These were soon followed by

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

churches. Later,

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

settlers began to arrive. Berlin enjoyed commercial and industrial growth, and during the 19th century was home to machine shops, a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, blacksmith shops, a hat factory, hotels, an auction house, and a variety of retail establishments. Berlin was described in 1833 as having 21 residential houses, two stores, two taverns and a physician. Today, Berlin is in the center of Ohio's largest Amish community and is home to the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center, featuring the Amish and Anabaptist history cyclorama, Behalt. Ohio has about 56,000 Amish residents, an increase of 60 percent since 1992.

Geography

Berlin is situated in east-central Holmes County at the junction of U.S. Route 62 and State Route 39. US-62 leads northeast to Wilmot, and State Route 39 leads southeast to Sugarcreek. Together, the two highways lead west to Millersburg, the Holmes

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

. Berlin is located at

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

40° 33' 40" north and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

81° 47' 40" west. The ZIP code is 44610 and the FIPS place code is 05816. The elevation ranges from above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

Economy

More tourists visit Berlin, permanent population 685, than any other town in Ohio Amish Country. Berlin was the first town in Ohio to market the Amish to tourists. Berlin's business district is large, with as of 2012 more than 40 shops, 10 hotels, and multiple restaurants large and small. Amish county analyst Susan L. Trollinger calls its architecture and offerings "eclectic" but dominated by the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...

and the

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

and points out that like Walnut Creek, all call back to the past. Trollinger argues that the frontier theme in Berlin presents a story of peaceful people leaving crowded cities behind in order to make a better life for themselves and their families. The community is home to the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center.

Notable people

* Atlee Pomerene,

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Nate Torrence Nathan Andrew Torrence (born December 1, 1977) is an American comedic actor known for several TV and film roles, most notably including Devon from ''She's Out of My League'', Wade from HBO‘s ''Hello Ladies'', Sully on the CW series ''Supernatu ...

, television actor *

Alta Weiss Alta Weiss Hisrich (February 9, 1890 – February 12, 1964), born Alta Weiss, was an American minor league baseball pitcher from Ohio who drew large crowds to exhibition games at minor league and major league venues in the US state of Ohio and K ...

, early semiprofessional female baseball player

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Ohio Census-designated places in Holmes County, Ohio German-American culture in Ohio Amish in Ohio Swiss-American culture in Ohio 1816 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1816

History

Geography

Economy

Notable people

See also

References