Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville's coal mining industry attracted European immigrants from Sweden, Italy, Croatia, and Albania. Centerville is also home of the largest town square in the state of Iowa and a campus of Indian Hills Community College.

History Founded in 1846 by Jonathon Stratton under the name of "Chaldea," the city was planned around a unique two-block long city square. The name was later changed to Senterville, named after William Tandy Senter, a prominent Tennessee politician. When incorporation papers were filed in 1855, someone mistook the name for a misspelling and corrected it to Centerville.Tom Savage, A Dictionary of Iowa Place Names, University of Iowa Press, 2007; page 52. Incorporation was made official on January 23, 1857.

A mining town The first coal mine in Centerville was opened in 1868, with its mine shaft about one-half mile from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad depot. Horse-power was used to raise coal from the mines until 1872, when the Watson Coal Company opened a mine equipped with a steam hoist. The Centerville Block Coal Company, organized in 1894, consolidated the operation of numerous mines in the region to become the dominant mining company. In 1914, Centerville Block Coal produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. Centerville Block's largest competitor, formed around the same time, was the Scandinavian Coal Company, organized by a group of Swedish immigrants.James H. Lees, History of Coal Mining in Iowa, Chapter III of Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 536–537Frederick E. Saward, The Coal Trade, 1915, page 65. By 1938, coal production in the Centerville region was 600,000 tons per year.WPA Federal Writers Project, IOWA Guide to the Hawkeye State, State Historical Society of Iowa and Hastings House, 1938 and 1949, page 540 The mines were in the Mystic coal bed, 125 feet below ground in Centerville but exposed at the surface in Mystic, 5 miles to the northwest.Frank A. Wilder, James H. Lees and A. W. Hixton, Fuel Value of Iowa Coals with Analyses of Iowa Coals, Chapter II of Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 408

Centerville Block Coal's Relay Mine Number 3 was located on the west side of town (Number 31 on the map). By 1908, the coal face was a mile from the base of the shaft. Mules were used to haul trains of loaded coal tubs to the main haulage way, where they were hauled by a continuous loop of cable the last half mile to the shaft. The coal seam here was about 3 feet thick, and the shaft was 107 feet deep. A centrifugal blower 12 feet in diameter provided ventilation, and compressed air was used to power mining machinery.F. M. Fultz, Out of Door Studies in Geography, I, The Making of the Surface and Soils of the Upper Mississippi Region, The Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington Ill., 1916, Copyright 1908; see chapter V, An Iowa Coal Mine, page 97.Henry Hinds, The Coal Deposits of Iowa, Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, page 277.

Local Assembly 1020 of the Knights of Labor was based in Centerville and had a membership of 150 in 1884.Part III, Labor Organizations: Knights of Labor, First Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the State of Iowa, Geo. E. Roberts, Des Moines, 1885; page 55. On April 1, 1885, 325 miners in town went on strike, protesting a 20% drop in wages reflecting a decrease in the demand for coal during the summer months.Part VIII, Strikes and Arbitration: Strike at Centerville, First Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the State of Iowa, Geo. E. Roberts, Des Moines, 1885; page 158. Later, the United Mine Workers of America had a very strong presence in Centerville. In 1912, UMWA Local 553 in Centerville had 1194 members, making it the second largest UMWA local in the country.Tally Sheet, Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention of the United Mine Workers of America Jan. 16 – Feb. 2, 1912, Indianapolis; Volume 2, page 76A. The largest UMWA local was in Buxton, Iowa.

In 1910, the Scandinavian Coal Company drilled a 550-foot exploratory hole in Centerville, discovering a deposit of gypsum and anhydrite 10 feet thick near the bottom. The Centerville Gypsum Company was formed to exploit this deposit, and between 1912 and 1913, the company bored a shaft down to the gypsum. Water problems delayed the opening of the mine until 1917, and commercial production began in 1919.George F. Kay, Gypsum at Centerville, Gypsum Deposits of the United States, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 697, 1920, pages 107–109. The mine was closed in the early 1930s.Robert M. McKay, Gypsum Resources of Iowa , Iowa Geological Survey, adapted from Iowa Geology, 1985, No. 10.

The Sunshine Mine, about 3 miles west of Centerville (number 30 on the map), was very small in 1908, with just a horse-powered hoist at the pit head. By the 1930s, this was a large mine with an attached mining camp and a mountain of mine waste 500 feet long.1930's Aerial Photos taken by the USDA on the Iowa Geographic Map Server. The Sunshine Mine Drive-In is a theater on the former mine site that opened in 2005, but has since closed and fallen into disrepair.

The post-coal era Centerville experienced its peak population in the early 1900s as the popularity of coal peaked. After that point, as usage dwindled, the coal industry that had been the community's life blood collapsed. In the 1950s and 1960s a civic movement to promote new industries began. This effort culminated in the building of Rathbun Dam, near the city of Rathbun, Iowa, forming Rathbun Lake, known as "Iowa's Ocean", that was dedicated on July 31, 1971, by President Richard M. Nixon.

In June 2006 the Centerville Daily Iowegian reported that the city's largest employer, a Rubbermaid plant, that opened in Centerville in 1985, would shut down in September 2006 displacing 500 workers. In 2007, the former Rubbermaid building was purchased by Lee Container, a manufacturer of products made of high density polyethylene plastic resin.

The Southern Iowa Railroad was an electric interurban connecting Centerville to Moravia with a branch to Mystic. The railroad disbanded in 1967. The Appanoose County Community Railroad (APNC) was a short-line railroad founded in 1984, operating on discarded former rail lines, and connecting to the BNSF railroad in Albia. The APNC was succeeded by the Iowa Southern Railway in 2016 and still provides rail service to the city.

Geography Centerville is located in south-central Iowa at the junction of Iowa Highway 2 and Iowa Highway 5.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Centerville has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 5,412 people, 2,378 households, and 1,315 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,119.9 inhabitants per square mile (432.4/km2). There were 2,734 housing units at an average density of 565.8 per square mile (218.4/km2).

The median age was 42.3 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.8% were 65 years of age or older. 5.9% of residents were between the ages of 20 and 24, 22.7% were from 25 to 44, and 25.5% were from 45 to 64. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.1 males age 18 and over.

There were 2,378 households, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them. Of all households, 36.5% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 44.7% of households were non-families, 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

95.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.9% lived in rural areas. There were 2,734 housing units, of which 13.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.3%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 5,020 92.8% Black or African American 70 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native 13 0.2% Asian 55 1.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 4 0.1% Some other race 29 0.5% Two or more races 221 4.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 165 3.0%

2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 5,528 people, 2,491 households, and 1,411 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,838 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.5% White, 0.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.

There were 2,491 households, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.4% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.84.

The median age in the city was 41.8 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 20.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 5,924 people, 2,583 households, and 1,516 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,935 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.35% White, 0.81% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.44% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population.

There were 2,583 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88.

Age spread: 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,498, and the median income for a family was $36,855. Males had a median income of $28,333 versus $21,207 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,574. About 11.3% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy +Largest employers (2019)EmployerSize ClassBarker Co. Ltd250-499Lee Container100-249Mercy One Centerville Medical Center100-249Centerville Community School District (and affiliated schools)100-249Walmart Supercenter100-249Hy-Vee100-249Fareway100-249C&C Machining50-99

Arts and culture Pancake Day