The naming of Berea came from the necessity of choosing a name for a post office for Middleburg. For a time the township was known as Water Town, but no specific reason for the name was given. Several names were suggested for a post office…

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The name Tabor, after the lonely Mount Tabor near Jerusalem, was another name considered. Berea was considered, in that a place called Berea was mentioned in the 10th and 11th verses of the 17th chapter of Acts, and that name was favored by Reverend H. O. Sheldon and John Baldwin. At a meeting on Sept. 27, 1836, a method to select a name was agreed upon.

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Tabor was written on one side of a half dollar and Berea on the other. John Baldwin called out “Heads” as the coin was tossed and the name of Berea came up, to be entered in the records of the United States Post Office.