Berlin is a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 located in central Berlin Township

Berlin Township, Holmes County, Ohio

Berlin Township is one of the fourteen townships of Holmes County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,857 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the east central part of the county, it borders the following townships:...

, Holmes County

Holmes County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,943 people, 11,337 households, and 9,194 families residing in the county. The population density was 92 people per square mile . There were 12,280 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is situated at the junction of U.S. Route 62

U.S. Route 62

U.S. Route 62 runs from the US-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas to Niagara Falls, New York, near the United States-Canada border. It is the only east-west US Route that connects Mexico and Canada.Parts of U.S...

 and State Route 39

Ohio State Route 39

State Route 39 is a primarily east–west running state highway in north-central and northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. The route runs through seven counties on its approximately trip through the region...

.

It is located at latitude

Latitude

In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

 40° 33' 40" north and longitude

Longitude

Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

 81° 47' 40" west. The ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 44610 and the FIPS place code is 05816. The elevation is 1260 feet above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

.

History

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. 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, Pennsylvania

Berlin, a borough located approximately 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, was laid out in 1784 and incorporated on February 7, 1833. The population was 2,192 at the 2000 census...

 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.

Most early settlers of the Berlin area were of German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 or Swiss ancestry and came to Ohio by way of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

In 1818 a school was established in Berlin and in 1822 a post office. These were soon followed by Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Mennonite churches. Later, Amish settlers began to arrive. Berlin enjoyed commercial and industrial growth, and during the 19th century was home to machine shops, a foundry, blacksmith shops, a hat factory, hotels, an auction house and a variety of retail establishments.

Today, Berlin is in the heart of Ohio's largest Amish

Amish

The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

community. Ohio has about 56,000 Amish residents, an increase of 60 percent since 1992.