Berlin is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

located approximately 75 miles southeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in Somerset County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 2,004 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's major celebration each fall concerns the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

in the 1790s, although in recent years residents also commemorate the termination of

Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers planned to crash the plane into a feder ...

in nearby Shanksville in 2001. The Berlin Fife and Drum Corps is one of the oldest such bands in North America. Snyder of Berlin potato chips are made in town, which also hosts Center Rock, Inc., a drilling-equipment manufacturer. Farming and coal mining have long been important in the area. It is not located near

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

in Adams County, or New Berlin in Union County. East Berlin was previously called Berlin but had to have the "East" added to avoid confusion with this Berlin.

History

Immigrants (especially those from Germany) began settling the area before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, 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. In June 1794, a riot occurred at the Berlin Schoolhouse during the

. By September, Irish immigrant Robert Philson raised a

liberty pole A liberty pole is a wooden pole, or sometimes spear or lance, surmounted by a "cap of liberty", mostly of the Phrygian cap. The symbol originated in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar by a group of Rom ...

at his log store on the square and advised citizens to oppose U.S. laws. Federal troops arrived in October, and the rebellion evaporated, with Philson and itinerant preacher

Herman Husband Herman Husband (December 3, 1724 – June 19, 1795) was an American farmer, pamphleteer, author, and preacher best known as a leader of the Regulator Movement, a populist rebellion in the Province of North Carolina in the years leading up to the ...

being taken to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for trial (where they were acquitted). Governor

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin sig ...

made his headquarters in Dr. Christian Boerstler's house. Local attorney

Jeremiah S. Black Jeremiah Sullivan Black (January 10, 1810 – August 19, 1883) was an American statesman and lawyer. He served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1851–1857) and as the Court's Chief Justice (1851–1854). He also served in the ...

rose to become Justice of Pennsylvania (1851-1857, serving as Chief Justice from 1851 to 1853). After election of fellow Pennsylvanian James Buchanan as President of the United States, he began litigating fraudulent land claims in California as

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

and later served as Secretary of State.

Geography

Berlin is located at , approximately southeast of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and approximately south-southwest of Altoona. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land. Berlin has an elevation of , the second highest, after only Seven Springs, in Pennsylvania.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 2,192 people, 881 households, and 577 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 940 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 99.54% White, 0.05% African American, 0.32% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18%. Of the 881 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.9% of households were one person, and 15.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.90. In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males. The median household income was $29,219 and the median family income was $35,714. Males had a median income of $27,763 versus $20,156 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,614. About 5.9% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Berlin Brothersvalley School District.
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References

External links