Located in the geographical center of the state, Berlin is best known as the Home of the Yankee Peddler. The first white settler, John Beckley, arrived in 1650, followed by a few families from Farmington in the late 1600s. Initially, Berlin was both a religious and an agrarian community. Farming was the way of life when the first church was built in 1712 in the Great Swamp Settlement of Berlin. As the settlement grew, small industries arose, mills sprang up along the rivers and streams, tinsmith shops opened, and the Yankee peddler wagon became a traveling store. Gradually over the years, the...