Centerville is a town in Hickman County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,489 as of the 2020 Census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and the only incorporated town in Hickman County. It is best known for being the hometown of American comedian

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian and country singer who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) ...

Geography

Centerville sits at the center of Hickman County in the valley of the Duck River, a west-flowing tributary of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Transportation

Tennessee State Route 100 State Route 100 (SR 100) is a west–east state highway in both West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee that connects Whiteville with Nashville. It is long. Route description Hardeman County SR 100 begins as a primary highway in West ...

is the main road running the length of the town. It leads northeast to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the state capital, and southwest to Linden. Tennessee State Route 50 passes through the southern part of Centerville, leading northwest to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

(via exit 148) near Only and southeast to Columbia. The town limits extend north from the town center along SR 100 to the formerly unincorporated community of Fairfield, where State Route 48 leads northwest to Interstate 40 at Exit 163. Centerville and Hickman County are served by Centerville Municipal Airport (

IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respec ...

GHM), a city-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) north of downtown.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,532 people, 1,415 households, and 832 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,793 people, 1,563 households, and 997 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,688 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.51%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.77%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.37% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population. There were 1,563 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,824, and the median income for a family was $35,448. Males had a median income of $29,693 versus $20,688 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $14,947. About 15.1% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 21.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Centerville is governed by a mayor, vice mayor, and a board of 10 aldermen. It uses the council-manager government style of government. The mayor is elected to a four-year term. Each alderman represents one of five wards and is elected to a four-year term. Aldermen elections are staggered every two years, with one alderman from each ward being elected in each election. The vice mayor is selected from the board of aldermen. The current mayor is Gary Jacobs. The current vice mayor is Derek Newsom. The current Board of Aldermen consists of: ''* designates vice mayor. Term expiration dates in parentheses.''

Notable people

Notable people who were born in Centerville or lived in the community , * Kevin Max, solo musician and founding member of DC Talk, briefly ran a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

and recording studio in Centerville *

, An American comedian. born Sarah Ophelia Colley in Centerville. *

Del Reeves Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1932 – January 1, 2007) was an American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American ...

, country singer, died in Centerville in 2007. * William K. Sebastian, Centerville native who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate * Mike Smithson, major league baseball player * John Spence, America's first "Frogman" *

Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 or 1909 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Early life Wells was born in Centerville, Tennessee. Early in his life, he lived in Cent ...

, jazz trombonist

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Centerville has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

References

External links

Town of Centerville official websiteTown charter
{{authority control Towns in Hickman County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee County seats in Tennessee