Berlin, New Hampshire

Berlin, New Hampshire
City

Seal
Nickname(s):
The City That Trees Built
Paper City
Hockey Town USA

Location in New Hampshire
Coordinates: 44°28′07″N 71°11′02″W / 44.46861°N 71.18389°W / 44.46861; -71.18389Coordinates: 44°28′07″N 71°11′02″W / 44.46861°N 71.18389°W / 44.46861; -71.18389
Country United States
State New Hampshire
County Coos
Town 1829
City 1897
Government
 • Mayor Paul Grenier
 • City Council Russell Otis
Lucie Remillard
Michael Gentili
Denise Morgan Allain
Peter Higbee
Michael Rozek
Roland Theberge
Diana Nelson
 • City Manager James Wheeler
Area
 • Total 62.5 sq mi (162 km2)
 • Land 61.6 sq mi (160 km2)
 • Water 0.9 sq mi (2 km2)
Elevation 1,020 ft (310 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 10,051
 • Estimate (2012[1]) 9,743
 • Density 160/sq mi (62/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 03570
Area code(s) 603
FIPS code 33-05140
GNIS feature ID 0871491
Website www.berlinnh.gov

Berlin /ˈbɜːrlᵻn/ is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census.[2] It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest. Berlin is home to the Moffett House, Northern Forest Heritage Park, the Berlin Fish Hatchery, and the White Mountains Community College, a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire.

Berlin is the principal city of the Berlin Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Coos County, New Hampshire and Essex County, Vermont. Because Quebec is less than 60 miles (100 km) away, Berlin has a large number of people of French Canadian descent in its population. Around 65% of its residents speak a variant of New England French, which is locally known as “Berlin French”.

History

International Paper Mill, c. 1912
Green's Pond, 1888
A letter from Mayor Arthur Scholtz of Berlin, Germany honoring the “Paper City” on its 100th anniversary on July 5, 1929

Around 11,000 years ago, small groups of Native Americans camped around the area of what is now called Berlin. In later years, the Eastern Abenaki tribes came to Berlin to mine rhyolite on Mt. Jasper.

When English colonists came to America, Berlin was first granted on December 31, 1771 by Colonial Governor John Wentworth, as Maynesborough after Sir William Mayne.[3] But the grantees did not take up their claims, which disappeared with the Revolution. In 1802, Seth Eames and Gideon Tirrell were sent by the descendants of Mayne to explore and mark lots for settlers, and still no one came. Maynesborough was settled in 1823-1824 by William Sessions and his nephew, Cyrus Wheeler.[4] Both men were from Gilead, Maine. Farming was the first industry. With 65 inhabitants in 1829, the New England town was reincorporated on July 1 as Berlin with the help of Cyrus' father, Thomas Wheeler.[5]

Situated in a heavily forested region, the community developed early into a center for logging and wood industries. Falls on the Androscoggin River provided water power for sawmills. In 1826, a road was built to Gorham by Thomas, Amos, and Daniel Green. In 1851 the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad entered Berlin, connecting it to other markets. Acquiring water, timber, and rail rights in the early 1850s, the H. Winslow & Company built a large sawmill at the head of "Berlin Falls". In 1868, William Wentworth Brown and Lewis T. Brown bought a controlling interest in the business and changed its name to the Berlin Mills Company. In 1866, a schoolteacher named Elmire Jolicoeur invented the dish now known as a "Casserole" and served it to students and travelers.

By 1885, the mill town was home to several pulp and paper mills, including the Riverside Mill, Forest Fibre Company and White Mountain Pulp & Paper Company. Because of the need for labor in the mills, immigrants arrived from Russia, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, and Germany. Many others were French Canadians from nearby Quebec.

In 1872, a group of Scandinavians founded the nation's oldest ski club, which still exists today.[6] It was originally called the North American Ski Club (in Norwegian, Skiklubben Nordamerikansk), but later was renamed the Nansen Ski Club. This was in honor of Fridtjof Nansen, who in 1888 skied across Greenland. In 1897, Berlin was incorporated as a city, the northernmost in the state.

As of 1874, the Grand Trunk Railroad passed through the eastern portion of the town.[3]

Berlin's main industry in the early 20th century was the pulp and paper industries, which have been in a long decline since that time. As jobs left the area, the population has decreased and is about half its peak of more than 20,000 in the 1930 census. In 1917, the Berlin Mills Company was renamed the Brown Company, because of World War I and anti-German feeling against the enemy of the time. A short time after the Great Depression, the Brown Company went into receivership. Surviving with governmental help, it was bought and sold several times after World War II.

In 2001 American Tissue filed for bankruptcy, before which it had stopped paying city taxes. Its facilities were purchased in 2002 by Fraser Papers of Canada. But in March 2006, Fraser Papers announced the closing of Berlin's pulp mill. On May 6, 2006, 250 employees were displaced, some moving to Cascade's paper finishing mill, but most were left unemployed.[7]

On October 3, 2006, the North American Dismantling Corporation of Michigan announced that it had bought the 121-acre (49 ha) defunct pulp mill site of Fraser Paper, and would spend a year demolishing the property to allow redevelopment.[8] Laidlaw Energy LLC has since purchased a portion of the former Fraser property, including a large recovery boiler which it intends to convert into a 66-megawatt biomass plant in 2010-2011.[9]

In the 1990s, the local historian and author Paul “Poof” Tardiff began writing articles in The Berlin Daily Sun. He later collected these in a three-volume series titled Once Upon a Berlin Time, which documents local history.[10]

Recent economic development has been based on the correctional industry. The 750-bed Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility was built in 1999 and employs approximately 200 people. In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Prisons opened a federal, 1200-bed medium security facility, which employs approximately 350 people.

Geography

Berlin is located at 44°28′07″N 71°11′02″W / 44.46861°N 71.18389°W / 44.46861; -71.18389 (44.4686, -71.1839).[11]

Berlin is located in northern New Hampshire, north of the White Mountains. The city is bordered to the south by Randolph and Gorham, north by Milan, east by Success and west by Kilkenny. New Hampshire Route 16 passes through the center of the city, leading north to Errol and to Maine, and leading south through Gorham and Pinkham Notch to North Conway and the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Route 110 leads northwest out of Berlin through West Milan to Groveton.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.5 square miles (162 km2), of which 61.6 square miles (160 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) is water, comprising 1.35% of the town.[12] Berlin is situated at the confluence of the Androscoggin and Dead rivers. The Mahoosuc Range is to the southeast. Jericho Mountain State Park, created from a city park and from private land in 2005, is west of the city center and features a reservoir created in the 1970s and a network of ATV trails. The city's highest point is Mount Weeks, at 3,901 feet (1,189 m) above sea level. Approximately half of Berlin lies within the Connecticut River watershed, and half lies in the Androscoggin River watershed.[13]

Rivers

Climate

Berlin has cold winters and cool to warm summers, like most of New England. A table of the records and averages is below.

Climate data for Berlin, New Hampshire
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 67
(19)		 65
(18)		 80
(27)		 89
(32)		 94
(34)		 97
(36)		 98
(37)		 97
(36)		 95
(35)		 87
(31)		 77
(25)		 68
(20)		 98
(37)
Average high °F (°C) 26.1
(−3.3)		 29.6
(−1.3)		 38.9
(3.8)		 51.2
(10.7)		 65.4
(18.6)		 73.7
(23.2)		 78.1
(25.6)		 76.2
(24.6)		 67.5
(19.7)		 55.7
(13.2)		 42.7
(5.9)		 30.9
(−0.6)		 53
(11.68)
Average low °F (°C) 4.0
(−15.6)		 6.4
(−14.2)		 17.1
(−8.3)		 30.0
(−1.1)		 40.8
(4.9)		 50.4
(10.2)		 54.7
(12.6)		 52.7
(11.5)		 44.2
(6.8)		 34.1
(1.2)		 25.8
(−3.4)		 11.9
(−11.2)		 31.01
(−0.55)
Record low °F (°C) −35
(−37)		 −39
(−39)		 −29
(−34)		 −1
(−18)		 18
(−8)		 29
(−2)		 34
(1)		 32
(0)		 20
(−7)		 0
(−18)		 −13
(−25)		 −41
(−41)		 −41
(−41)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.82
(71.6)		 2.18
(55.4)		 2.86
(72.6)		 3.22
(81.8)		 3.46
(87.9)		 3.96
(100.6)		 3.70
(94)		 4.01
(101.9)		 3.59
(91.2)		 4.04
(102.6)		 3.64
(92.5)		 2.98
(75.7)		 40.46
(1,027.8)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 18.0
(45.7)		 16.7
(42.4)		 16.0
(40.6)		 5.5
(14)		 trace 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 trace 0.2
(0.5)		 4.9
(12.4)		 18.4
(46.7)		 79.7
(202.4)
Source: NOAA [14]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
183073—
184011658.9%
185017349.1%
1860433150.3%
187052922.2%
18801,144116.3%
18903,729226.0%
19008,886138.3%
191011,78032.6%
192016,10436.7%
193020,01824.3%
194019,084−4.7%
195016,615−12.9%
196017,8217.3%
197015,256−14.4%
198013,084−14.2%
199011,824−9.6%
200010,331−12.6%
201010,051−2.7%
Est. 20149,501[15]−5.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

As of the census[17] of 2010, there were 10,051 people residing in the city. The population density was 160.8 people per square mile (62.1/km²). There were 4,910 housing units at an average density of 78.6 per square mile (30.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.54% White, 0.81% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.51% of the population.

The population of Berlin rose rapidly from 1880 through 1930. The fastest growth more than doubled the population between 1890 and 1900. A slow decline began after 1930, interrupted only by a temporary increase around 1960.

First ancestries of Berlin residents, 2000[18]
Ancestry Total Respondents 9,079 Percentage of Total Respondents
  French Canadian 3,937 43.4%
  French 1,817 20.0%
  American 673 7.4%
Total 6,427 70.8%

Notable people

Education

Public schools

Public education is managed by Berlin Public Schools:

Higher education

Transportation

The major roads serving Berlin are New Hampshire Routes 16 and 110. Berlin serves as the northern terminus of the Berlin–Conway–New Hampton route of Concord Coach Lines.

Two airports are located nearby to Berlin, Berlin Regional Airport and Gorham Airport.

Media

Radio stations

Documentaries

Movies

The following movies have been filmed in Berlin:

Newspaper

Popular culture

Inventions

Hiram A. Farrand with the Farrand Rapid Rule

The following items were created in Berlin:

Historic sites

Berlin is home to the following sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, added in 1979 to the NRHP

Sites of interest

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Community Profiles Berlin, NH". NH.gov. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  2. ↑ United States Census Bureau, American FactFinder, 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Article in Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire (1875)
  4. ↑ "Environmental History of the Androscoggin River, Maine and New Hampshire". Bates College Department of Environmental Studies. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  5. ↑ George Drew Merrill (1888). "HISTORY OF BERLIN, COOS COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE". Syracuse N.Y.: W.A. Fergusson & Co. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  6. ↑ "History of the Nansen Ski Club". Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  7. ↑ State of New Hampshire (2006-03-07). "Governor Lynch Pledges Full State Support For Employees of Berlin Pulp Mill". Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  8. ↑ "Berlin Daily Sun" (DOC). The Berlin Daily Sun. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  9. ↑ Reuters (2009-01-05). "Laidlaw Completes Acquisition of Berlin, New Hampshire Pulp Mill Facility and Closes Related Financing for 66 Megawatt Biomass Energy Project".
  10. ↑ Berlin and Coos County Historical Society. "Once Upon A Berlin Time". Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  11. ↑ "The National Map". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  12. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001) - Berlin city, New Hampshire". U.S. Census Bureau American Factfinder. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  13. ↑ Foster, Debra H.; Batorfalvy, Tatianna N.; Medalie, Laura (1995). Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers. U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.
  14. ↑ "Climatography of the United States No. 20" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  18. ↑ US Census Bureau, « Population Group: French Canadian, French, American, etc., in Berlin, New Hampshire, census 2000
  19. ↑ "ACSC GOE: Michael J. Durant 2005 Biography". Archived from the original on 2007-11-26. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  20. ↑ Jon C. Schladweiler. "Coal Tar Impregnated Wood Fibre Pipe". Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  21. ↑ Elizabeth A. Wellington. "Women’s Monthly Magazine, April of 1954" (PDF). Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Cellulose floc granules and process". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  23. ↑ Walter W. Jacob (September 2004). "Stanley Advertising and Imprinted Tape Rules". The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  24. ↑ Paul “Poof” Tardiff. "Once Upon a Berlin Time pg. 4-5" (PDF). Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  25. ↑ Jackson & List (2007). "Giants of the Past: The Battle Over Hydrogenation (1903-1920)", Inform 18.
  26. ↑ "Beginnings of the Cascade Paper Mill" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2011.

External links

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