A history of Centerville,
since 1814
Postcards, papers and photographs of Centerville from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Centerville was platted in 1814 on land bought from the Miami Indians at the Twelve Mile Purchase. It was settled by Quakers originally from Centreville, Delaware. Centre Monthly Meeting in Delaware is part of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, whose Indian relations office first sent a delegation of Quakers to Indiana Territory at the request of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami Indians, who visited them in Baltimore. Friends from Delaware lived for a time in Guilford County, North Carolina before permanently moving to Indiana Territory when it opened for settlement. The community is said to be named for its location near the middle of the county, but it is not in the center. A little-known county seat war was fought in Wayne County in 1873 between Centerville and Richmond. The county seat had been located in Centerville (Center Township) since 1818. By 1870, Richmond (…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Centerville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewBARN, SOUTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE -…, 1933: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Centerville
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Centerville, decade by decade
CommonsBARN, SOUTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE - Lantz House, 214 West Mai…1933
CommonsCARRIAGE SHOP, SOUTH FRONT, DETAIL OF ENTRANCE - Lantz Hous…1933
CommonsDETAIL OF MANTELPIECE FOUND IN CEILAR - Jacob Julian House,…1933
CommonsDETAIL OF SPLIT LATH IN SOUTHWEST ROOM - Jacob Julian House…1933
CommonsEAST SIDE - Jacob Julian House, 313 West Main Street1933
CommonsFIRST FLOOR, NORTHEAST ROOM (SECONDARY BAR ROOM), EAST WALL…1933
CommonsFIRST FLOOR, SOUTHEAST ROOM (MAIN BAR ROOM), WEST WALL, DET…1933
CommonsFIRST FLOOR, STAIR HALL, DETAIL OF NEWEL POST - Jacob Julia…1933
CommonsFORMAL PARLOR LOOKING WEST - Lantz House, 214 West Main Str…1933
CommonsGENERAL VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST - Lantz House, 214 West Main St…1933
CommonsLIVING ROOM, LOOKING NORTH - Lantz House, 214 West Main Str…1933
CommonsNORTH FRONT AND WEST SIDE - Jacob Julian House, 313 West Ma…19331990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as BARN, SOUTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE - Lantz House, 214 West Main Street (1933) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.