Berlin

ABOUT BERLIN

Berlin was first settled in 1665. The town’s name is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.   The population was 2,866 at the 2010 census. 

Berlin lies in a low range of hills between the Nashua River and Assabet River valleys.  According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 16.1 square miles, of which 12.9 square miles is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2), or 1.22%, is water. Berlin is bordered by Hudson and Marlborough to the east, Bolton to the north, Clinton and Boylston to the west, and Northborough to the south.

Incorporated in 1812, the town was a residential and agricultural community, growing mixed hay grains and raising cattle.  For a period after the Civil War, Berlin was home to a large shoe factory, and shoe manufacturing and lumbering provided non-agrarian jobs.  The town soon moved into specialty market gardening, sending 41,000 bunches of asparagus to market in 1885, growing hops and raising chickens. By 1940, 83,600 dozen eggs were produced annually by the poultry farmers of Berlin.

The Town of Berlin is rich in natural, cultural and historic resources.    It is fortunate to have protected hundreds of acres of natural resources including wetlands, stream corridors, and wooded uplands that are host to common and uncommon flora and fauna.  Cultural resources include the agrarian landscapes and homesteads, and the village neighborhoods that are still prevalent throughout Berlin.  Around a hundred historic homes, churches, and civic buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with cemeteries, mills sites and dams, and elements of an early aqueduct system are all part of Berlin’s past that remain preserved.

Today Berlin is a “Right to Farm” community and is a pleasing mix of past and present.  It continues to embrace its tradition as it cautiously sets in motion plans for its future.  Residents enjoy a variety of senior, youth and family activity programs and numerous local community events. Conveniently located, Berlin gives its residents easy access to Routes 290, 495, and 20 and is minutes from the new Highland Commons Shopping Center and the Solomon Pond Mall – both are an expansive collection of shops, grocery and specialty stores.

For more information, visit:

www.townofberlin.com

www.bbrsd.org(public schools)

www.townofberlin.com/boards-and-committees/conservation-commission(conservation land)