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Centerville, Washington aerialPhoto: Tedder · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Centerville

Centerville’s post office opened in 1883, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 2000.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Tedder · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Centerville began

When was Centerville founded?

1883

The Centerville post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 120 in 20002020 census: 94143 years
Founding year: the first Centerville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Centerville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Centerville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Centerville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Centerville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Centerville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Centerville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Centerville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Centerville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. Settled in 1877 by Albert J. Brown, the population was 94 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 112 to 94 (-16%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Centerville on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Centerville on the 1953 USGS mapCenterville on the 1980 USGS map1953The Dalles sheet · 1:250,000

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

People over time

Centerville, census by census

010020002020Peak: 120

Between 94 and 120 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Questions about Centerville’s history

What year was Centerville founded?

The Centerville post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.