Centerville (formerly, Centerville City and Centerville Beach)
is a former settlement in
Humboldt County,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
It was located west of
Ferndale,
on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
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 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
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 the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
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 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.
References
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Former settlements in Humboldt County, California
Former populated places in California
Populated places established in 1852
1852 establishments in California