Centerville is a former settlement in

Alpine County, California Alpine County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of California located within the Sierra Nevada on the state border with Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,204, making it California's least populous county. T ...

, United States.

History

Located along a stage coach route between Silver King Valley and the East Fork of the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Count ...

, Centerville was a commercial hub during the 1850s and 1860s. Described as a "small village" with stores, a tavern, and a hotel called the Centerville House, Centerville supplied local mines with lumber for flumes, bridges, tunnels, fencing, buildings and heating. Richardson's sawmill was located at Centerville during the 1860s. In 1864, in an election to determine the Alpine County seat, Markleeville received the most votes, beating out Centerville and two other competing towns. Fire destroyed the home of the town's butcher—located at the corner of Montgomery and Jackson streets—in 1872, and "the rest of the town soon faded away". Little remains of the original settlement. A plaque documenting the history of Centerville was installed in 2013 by

E Clampus Vitus The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the Western United States, especially the history of the Mother Lode#California Mother Lode, Mother Lode and gold ...

, a fraternal organization. The site is now occupied by the Centerville Flat campground.

References

Former settlements in Alpine County, California Former populated places in California {{AlpineCountyCA-geo-stub