Founding year: the first Centreville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 91% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centreville’s overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Centreville’s 12.8 sits above most of its state (84% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
Centreville developed around a tavern founded there in 1831 by European-American settler, Thomas W. Langley. It was incorporated as a village in 1837. The St. Joseph County Courthouse was built in 1842.
An Amish community, formed in 1910, is now the largest in the state.
Centreville is the location of the Langley Covered Bridge and the Leverett and Amanda Clapp House, historic landmarks.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Centreville, census by census
Between 473 and 1,579 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Centreville’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Centreville’s history
What year was Centreville founded?
The Centreville post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Centreville rank for history?
Centreville is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Centreville?
33% of Centreville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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2017
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2005