The greatest boom to Berlin industry resulted from the decision of the Patterson brothers to start their business on West Street (now called Lower Lane).

When demand increased they took apprentices into the shop and engaged peddlers to travel throughout the colonies selling the shiny, useful articles (the seal of the Town of Berlin shows such a "Yankee peddler" in eighteenth-century dress with a basket under his arm, a pack on his back full of tinware).

The town took parts away from Wethersfield (Now Rocky Hill and Newington), Middletown (Now Cromwell), Wallingford (Now Meriden) and Farmington (Now Southington and New Britain).

Berlin was one of the birthplaces of interchangeable parts manufacturing and of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, in the workshop of Simeon North.

In 1659, Sergeant Richard Beckley purchased 300 acres from Chief Tarramuggus, built a home for his family and became the first settler in what was to become Berlin.

Parts of the towns of Farmington, Wethersfield and Middletown were added to increase the land area, and the name changed to Kensington.

In 1772, the Society was divided into an eastern half, called Worthington, and the western section, which retained the name of Kensington.

Around 1740, Edward and William Pattison, two brothers from Ireland, emigrated to Berlin and set up the first tinware business in the colonies.

A blacksmith was crucial for daily living needs such as nails, tools, hinges, latches, hooks, cranes, cooking utensils, and parts for wagons, wheels and sleds.

East Berlin Milling Co. produced cotton and woolen yarn which was spun into clothing and blankets.

Berlin was on the direct route from New Haven to Hartford, with taverns and inns, which were regular stagecoach stops for fresh horses, meals and sleeping accommodations.

Berlin was proud to have one of the 75 official post offices designated by Benjamin Franklin, first Postmaster General.

A historic marker showing that the next post office was in Hartford, 11 miles away, is still located on Worthington Ridge.

The west side of Berlin is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border.

Berlin is located on the New Haven–Springfield Line with daily passenger service to points north and south and to New York City via a connection in New Haven.

Notwithstanding this history, a contemporary legend claims that the emphasis was changed during the First World War to differentiate the little town from the German city.