Centerville, Humboldt County, California

40°34′29″N 124°20′53″W

Centerville
Former settlement
Looking South along Centerville Beach
Coordinates: 40°34′29″N 124°20′53″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Humboldt County
Elevation [1]	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]

Survivors on shore watch others escape the wrecked steamship Northerner, January 6, 1860.^[4]

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.

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Centerville, Humboldt County, California
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 36. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
3. Genzoli, Marilyn (1994). The Victorian Homes of Ferndale: A Pictorial Guide and History. Ferndale, California: The Ferndale Museum. p. 16.
4. Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon: The Lewis & Dryden Printing Company. pp. 95–96.
5. Vincent, Francis (1860). Semi-Annual United States Register. Philadelphia: Francis Vincent. pp. 14–18.
6. Bess, Carol; Newman, Beryl; Roberts, Ann, eds. (2004). Images of America: Ferndale. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 0-7385-2890-0. LCCN 2004104609.
7. CERES State Historical Landmarks. "CERES State Historical Landmarks". CERES. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23.
8. Humboldt County Parks. "Centerville Beach County Park". Humboldt County, California. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.