Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near North Centerville Centerville, IN

Centerville was platted in 1814 on land obtained from the Miami Indians in the Twelve Mile Purchase, and it was settled by Quakers who had originally come from Centreville, Delaware.

Centerville served as the seat of Wayne County from 1818 until 1873, when it lost a famous "county seat war" to Richmond — Centerville men twice blocked efforts to remove the records, the second time by firing a three-pound cannon nicknamed "Black Betty" at their own courthouse door, and the cannon marks are still visible over the door of the old courthouse, now the Center Township Library.

Centerville's Main Street is the Old National Road (today US 40), surveyed through town in 1828; during the height of the Gold Rush, some 49,000 wagons a year traveled its cobblestone street heading west.

Centerville is known as the "City of Arches" for five brick archways — the Backenstoes, Dill, Lantz, Malone and Shortridge archways, built between 1823 and 1836 — that let horses and wagons pass through buildings to the back lots after the road was narrowed from 100 feet to 65 feet.

Centerville celebrates its archways every August with the Archway Days festival.

Centerville had 2,748 residents at the 2020 census, living in 1,081 households, making it Wayne County's second-largest incorporated community after Richmond.

The Mansion House Inn, built in 1840 as a popular National Road inn and stagecoach stop, now operates as a museum in Centerville.

The old log courthouse of Salisbury, Wayne County's first seat, was moved to Centerville and is considered the only original log courthouse still standing in the old Northwest Territory.

Just off Interstate 70 in Centerville stands the Warm Glow Candle Company's giant candle, billed as the world's largest candle at roughly 30 feet tall; the company's handmade candles, in more than 60 fragrances, are produced in Centerville, where its plant can turn out up to 15,000 candles a day.

Centerville Senior High School's teams are the Bulldogs, competing in the Tri-Eastern Conference, and the school's baseball team reached the Indiana Class 2A state finals in 2022.