40°34′29″N 124°20′53″W / 40.57472°N 124.34806°W
Centerville | |
|---|---|
Former settlement | |
 Looking South along Centerville Beach | |
| Coordinates: 40°34′29″N 124°20′53″W / 40.57472°N 124.34806°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Humboldt County |
| Elevation | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Time zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Area code | 707 |
Centerville (formerly, Centerville City and Centerville Beach)[2] is a former settlement in Humboldt County, California.[1] It was located 4.5 miles (7 km) west of Ferndale,[2] on the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m).[1]
Centerville was founded in 1852, and served as a trans-shipment point for oil from Petrolia to Eureka and was at its height during the 1850s to the 1870s.[2]
In 1857 Arnold Berding, a native of Germany arrived in Humboldt County and set up a store, hotel, livery and post office at the now-abandoned village of Centerville where Abraham Lincoln appointed him the first and only postmaster of the town.[3]
In January 1860, residents provided assistance and shelter to survivors of the wrecked steamship Northerner.[5] Shortly after the victims were buried in a mass grave that is now marked by the Centerville Beach Cross, the wreck salvage was sold at auction at Berding's Centerville store.[6]
The Centerville Beach Cross Historic Marker was erected in 1921,[7] wrecked by the 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes but rebuilt and rededicated afterwards.
Centerville Beach is administered as a Humboldt County Park.[8]
Historic artifacts and genealogical records of Centerville are maintained at the Ferndale Museum in Ferndale, California.