Centerville (formerly, Centerville City and Centerville Beach) is a former settlement in Humboldt County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It was located west of Ferndale, on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m). Centerville was founded in 1852, and served as a trans-shipment point for oil from Petrolia to

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

and was at its height during the 1850s to the 1870s. In 1857 Arnold Berding, a native of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

arrived in Humboldt County and set up a store, hotel, livery and post office at the now-abandoned village of Centerville where

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

appointed him the first and only postmaster of the town. In January 1860, residents provided assistance and shelter to survivors of the wrecked steamship '' Northerner''. 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. The Centerville Beach Cross Historic Marker was erected in 1921, wrecked by the

1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes The 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes (or 1992 Petrolia earthquakes) occurred along the Lost Coast of Northern California on April 25 and 26. The three largest events were the M7.2 thrust mainshock that struck near the unincorporated community of ...

but rebuilt and rededicated afterwards. Centerville Beach is administered as a Humboldt County Park. Historic artifacts and genealogical records of Centerville are maintained at the Ferndale Museum in

Ferndale, California Ferndale is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 1,371 at the 2010 census, down from 1,382 at the 2000 census. The city contains dozens of well-preserved Victorian storefronts and homes. Ferndale is the nor ...

References

{{authority control Former settlements in Humboldt County, California Former populated places in California Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in California