Berlin is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Cullman County

Cullman County, Alabama

Cullman County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Colonel John G. Cullmann. As of 2010, the population was 80,406. Its county seat is the town of the same name, Cullman, Alabama. It is a "moist" county in terms of availablity of alcoholic beverages, which means...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located roughly five miles east of the city of Cullman

Cullman, Alabama

Cullman is a city in Cullman County, State of Alabama. Cullman is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, and about south of Huntsville. According to the U.S...

. The center of Berlin is considered to be at the intersection of U.S. Route 278

U.S. Route 278

U.S. Route 278 is a parallel route of U.S. Route 78. It currently runs for 1,074 miles from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to Wickes, Arkansas at U.S. Highway 71/U.S. Highway 59. It might be notable that it is longer than its parent highway, US Hwy-78. US Hwy-278 passes through the states of...

 and Cullman County Road 747 at Walker's Corner. The Berlin Community Center is located on U.S. Route 278, just west of the crossroads.

History

The community was originally known as Hobart, possibly named after Garrett Hobart, a New Jersey legislator who would eventually become vice-president under William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

. A post office was established in 1895, but it was closed in 1903. The name was changed around 1914 to honor the capital of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, the former homeland of many of the town's residents. The new name was suggested by J.S. Schultz.