| Revision as of 17:28, 25 October 2008 editKen keisel (talk | contribs)2,987 edits adding history← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:39, 25 October 2008 edit undoKen keisel (talk | contribs)2,987 edits Restored tourism information - amish buisnesses and tourist impact is hardly POVNext edit → | ||
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| Prominent Amish families in the Berlin area include the Yoder and Troyer families. | Prominent Amish families in the Berlin area include the Yoder and Troyer families. | ||
| ==Amish tourism== | |||
| Berlin is in the heart of Ohio's largest ] community. Ohio has about 56,000 Amish residents, an increase of 60 percent since 1992. Most are located in Eastern ], making it the largest Amish population in the ]. The last twenty years has seen Berlin grow from a small Amish farm town to the center of Amish tourism in Ohio. Much of the Berlin's Main Street and nearby side streets have been transformed into shops catering to visitors who travel from all over ] and ] to see and buy Amish crafts, quilts, candels, toys, cheese and other baked goods. This has done much to transform quiet Berlin into a busy tourist attraction, and the town has suffered somewhat from the impact of tourism. Much of the slow, quiet lifestyle that first attracted visitors to Berlin has been lost, as tour buses fill the town with tourists six days a week (the shops are closed on Sundays), but a short drive outside Berlin will soon take visitors back to the rolling hills and Amish farms that first drew them there. | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
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| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| http://www.berlinohioinfo.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 | *http://www.berlinohioinfo.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 | ||
| *The Columbus Dispatch 23 August 2008 | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 17:39, 25 October 2008
Berlin is an unincorporated community located in central Berlin Township, Holmes County, Ohio, United States. It is situated at the junction of U.S. Route 62 and State Route 39.
It is located at latitude 40° 33' 40" north and longitude 81° 47' 40" west. The ZIP code is 44610 and the FIPS place code is 05816. The elevation is 1260 feet above sea level.
History
Berlin is the oldest existing village in Holmes County. The village of Berlin was planned on July 2, 1816 when John Swigert, a native of Berlin, Germany arranged for 108 lots to be laid out along an east and west street and a north and south street. Mr. Swigert and another early settler, Joseph Troyer from Berlin, Pennsylvania named the town after their respective home towns. Folklore claims that Mr. Swigert chose the site of Berlin because its elevation, the highest point in Holmes County, made its defense more feasible in case of an attack by indians.
In the 1800's there was considerable industry in Berlin, including machine shops, a foundry, dry goods stores, hotels, tailor shops, hat factories, blacksmith shops, a tannery, a grist mill and a large, successful auction in the early to mid 1900's.
The first Berlin school was started in 1818, as well as a post office. Several churches appeared early in Berlin including Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Mennonite. It was not until about 1820 that the first Amish settlers began to appear in Berlin Township, and the first Amish church was established in Berlin at that time.
Most early settlers of the Berlin area originated from Germany and Switzerland. In most cases they first settling in Pennsylvania, then migrated to Ohio.
Important people
Tom Lion, an local indian chief, has been a part of Berlin history since the first days when white settlers arrived in the area. He imigrated from Pennsylvania and was said to have taken part in the massacres of many white settlers. He was 77 years old when Berlin was founded in 1816. He lived in a small ravine just north of Berlin along a creek that is named after him, Lions Creek, between Berlin and Bunker Hill, Ohio.
The Pomerene family was the most prominent family to have lived in Berlin and Holmes County. U.S. Senator Atlee Pomerene was born in Berlin on 6 December 1863. Elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1911, and reelected in 1916, he served from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1923. A hospital in Millersburg, Ohio is named after the Pomerene family, and was founded with money donated by the family. The Pomerene house still stands along East Main Street in Berlin.
Prominent Amish families in the Berlin area include the Yoder and Troyer families.
Amish tourism
Berlin is in the heart of Ohio's largest Amish community. Ohio has about 56,000 Amish residents, an increase of 60 percent since 1992. Most are located in Eastern Holmes County, making it the largest Amish population in the United States. The last twenty years has seen Berlin grow from a small Amish farm town to the center of Amish tourism in Ohio. Much of the Berlin's Main Street and nearby side streets have been transformed into shops catering to visitors who travel from all over Ohio and Western Pennsylvania to see and buy Amish crafts, quilts, candels, toys, cheese and other baked goods. This has done much to transform quiet Berlin into a busy tourist attraction, and the town has suffered somewhat from the impact of tourism. Much of the slow, quiet lifestyle that first attracted visitors to Berlin has been lost, as tour buses fill the town with tourists six days a week (the shops are closed on Sundays), but a short drive outside Berlin will soon take visitors back to the rolling hills and Amish farms that first drew them there.
See also
References
- http://www.berlinohioinfo.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
- The Columbus Dispatch 23 August 2008
External links
| Municipalities and communities of Holmes County, Ohio, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Millersburg | ||
| Villages |  | |
| Townships | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |