Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Depot in Centerville, Kansas.
Centerville, Kansas, is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place. Its population was 78 as of the 2020 census.
Situated on Sugar Creek, a post office opened on March 15, 1855, and remains open today. Primarily a farming community, it became a shipping and supply town for the area when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway came through.
In 1910, it had a money order post office, express and telegraph offices, and was the shipping and supply town for a considerable agricultural district. At that time, it had a population of 175.
Centerville is about 12 miles northwest of Mound City, the county seat.
About three miles northeast of this small town is the St. Phillippine Duchesne Shrine, which marks the end of the Pottawatomie Trail of Death. Here once stood St. Mary’s Mission, also called the Sugar Creek Mission, which operated from 1839 to 1849. The site includes historical artifacts from the former St. Mary’s Sugar Creek Mission and settlement. It is located on 1525 Road, five miles west of Kansas Highway 7.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated May 2025.
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Sources:
Cyclopedia
. It is located 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north of the city of Blue Mound.
The Kansas City branch of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad runs through Centerville. The railroad supported local industries, a grain elevator, and a passenger depot. The old Amoco Pumphouse building was converted to an event venue in 2007. However, as of this writing, the building was for sale.
The community is served by the Prairie View USD 362 public school district, headquartered in LaCygne, Kansas.
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Centerville, a village of Linn county, is situated in the western portion of the county on Sugar creek and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. about 12 miles northwest of Mound City, the county seat.