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A−History
History · Centreville

Centreville dates to 1823, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #23 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Centreville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1980 on, and the census since 1890.

1823founded
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Centreville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Centreville began

When was Centreville founded?

1823

Centreville dates its founding to 1823 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 239 in 18902020 census: 2,800203 years

How historic is Centreville?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Centreville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Centreville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #23 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centreville’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±5.3) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 21 historic buildings, 76.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 88%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Centreville’s 76.6 sits above most of its state (79% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). Two sources give 1823.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Centreville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Centreville, and 5 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Centreville Historic District takes in 20 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1823: 203 years of Centreville.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Centreville’s post office has been open since 1829. Another post office, Vick, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Centreville
1829–today
Vick
1899–1912
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East CentrevilleEast TownFairdaleVickWest Centreville
Gone or out of use
Bibb County Training SchoolschoolCentreville Ferrycrossing
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Centreville
Centreville MemorialPineland Memorial ParkSandy Chapel

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

2 listings protect 21 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
21
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Centreville Historic District
Centreville Historic DistrictDavidson-Smitherman House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Victorian1
Renaissance Revival1
Romanesque1
Georgian1
Centreville Historic DistrictVictorian
Davidson-Smitherman HouseFederal

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Timeline

Centreville, 1823 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingCentreville is established
  3. 1829Post officeThe Centreville post office opens
  4. 1858Born hereFranklin Potts Glass Sr. is born here
  5. 1899Post officeThe Vick post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Born hereFresco Thompson is born here
  8. 1912Post officeThe Vick post office closes
  9. 1965Born hereHenry James is born here
  10. 1979In the archiveRitz Theater
  11. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1991Born hereZac Stacy is born here
  13. 1995In the archiveMOVING A NOW JACKETLESS MOLD OFF OF THE POURING PLATFORM ONTO THE SHAKEOUT RAILS. - South…
The story

How Centreville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Centreville.

Read it all →

The Cahaba River falls near Centreville, which made the town a strategic location for transportation through the region. The first post office in Bibb County was established in Centreville in 1821. Sarah Willis Chotard obtained a patent for land in this area in 1823 and began moving squatters off the land and laid out a plot for the new town of Centreville.

In 1829, Centreville became the permanent seat for Bibb County after several years of debate and different locations of the county courthouse, and the town was incorporated in 1832. Centreville's historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On May 27, 1973, a violent tornado struck the city, causing major damage across the area.

Chapters1910 lynching

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Centreville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1990s6 items
Ritz Theater1979Ritz TheaterVisible gas pump1979Visible gas pumpMOVING A NOW JACKETLESS MOLD OFF OF THE POURING PLATFORM ONTO THE SHAKEOUT RAILS. - Southern Ductile Casting Company, C…1995MOVING A NOW JACKETLESS MOLD OFF OF THE POURING PLATF…POURED, JACKETLESS MOLDS AWAITING SHAKEOUT ON THE SHAKEOUT RAILS. - Southern Ductile Casting Company, Centerville Found…1995POURED, JACKETLESS MOLDS AWAITING SHAKEOUT ON THE SHA…POURING IRON INTO THE LARGE JACKETED MOLDS. - Southern Ductile Casting Company, Centerville Foundry, 101 Airport Road, …1995POURING IRON INTO THE LARGE JACKETED MOLDS. - Souther…POURING IRON INTO THE LARGE JACKETED MOLDS. - Southern Ductile Casting Company, Centerville Foundry, 101 Airport Road, …1995POURING IRON INTO THE LARGE JACKETED MOLDS. - Souther…
On the map

Centreville on the map, 1980 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Centreville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Centreville on the 1980 USGS mapCentreville on the 2002 USGS map1980Centreville West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Centreville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ritz Theater
Retake this viewRitz Theater, 1979

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Centreville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Centreville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00019001920194019601980200020202,800

Grew from 239 people in 1890 to 2,800 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Centreville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Centreville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
H
Henry JamesAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
Zac StacyAmerican football player · b. 1991
Franklin Potts Glass Sr.American newspaper publisher · b. 1858
Fresco ThompsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1902
Help out

Finish Centreville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRitz Theater: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BrentIts storyD

Questions about Centreville’s history

What year was Centreville founded?

In 1823, according to Wikidata. Centreville’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1890 counted 239 people here.

How does Centreville rank for history?

Centreville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #23 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Centreville?

Two places: the Centreville Historic District (listed 1978) and the Davidson-Smitherman House (1988).

How old are the homes in Centreville?

8% of Centreville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1975.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.