What to See in Centerville - Top Sights and Attractions

The Appanoose County Sheriff's House and Jail is a historic structure located in Centerville, Iowa, United States. Provisions for a jail in Appanoose County were not realized until 1855 when a small stone building was constructed. It was used for about ten years when one of the inmates easily escaped.

The county sent its inmates to Wapello County until 1872 when this facility was completed. Jacob Shaw and Thomas Wentworth built the two-part facility. The front portion of the structure is a two-story brick structure that served as the sheriff's residence. The single-story stone jail facility was in the rear of the structure. A single story frame wing that served as a kitchen and pantry was added to the south end of the house around 1879. In 1904 the Pauly Jail Building Company of St. Louis designed and installed the steel and iron cells when the building was remodelled. There were four cells for men and two for juveniles or women. A frame addition was made to the jail around the same time. A shed roof was added around 1940 and connected this addition to the kitchen addition, and created a carport.

The facility is located on the east side of Main Street, one and one-half blocks north of Centerville's Courthouse Square. The grade of Main Street has been raised over the years and it is now necessary to descend a set of steps to reach the front yard and entrance of the building. The facility was used as the county's jail until the mid-1960s, and in 1973 the county Board of Supervisors gave the building to the Appanoose County Historical Society for use as a museum. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.^[1]

The former United States Post Office is a historic building located in Centerville, Iowa, United States. The Georgian Revival style structure was designed by the architectural section of the U.S. Treasury Department, which was under the supervision of James Knox Taylor at that time. Completed in 1904, the main block of the building is five bays wide, and three deep. It has quoined corners, and it is capped with a hipped roof with a wooden modillion cornice and a narrow, decorative frieze. The roof originally had a cupola in the center and a balustrade. An addition was built onto the west side of the building in 1932, and an enclosed loading dock was added in 1951. The post office moved into a new facility on North Tenth Street in 1977. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was acquired in 1982 by the Appanoose County Historical Society for use as their museum.^[5]

Sturdivant-Sawyer House is a historic residence located in Centerville, Iowa, United States. The house was built by Francis M. Drake, a former Governor of Iowa and founder of Drake University in Des Moines, as a wedding gift for his daughter Mary Drake Sturdivant. The Sturdivants owned house until 1908, and then again from 1914 to 1917. J. L. Sawyers, a Drake son-in-law, used the house as a medical clinic from 1908 to 1914 while he resided in the Drake House. Frank S. Payne bought the house in 1917. He was a local attorney who served two terms in the Iowa General Assembly, was president of Iowa Southern Utilities Company, and president of the Centerville National Bank. His wife, Grace, served in the leadership of various local women's organizations.

The house features Colonial Revival stylistic elements on a structure that follows an Italian Villa-type plan. Its most striking features are the two cyrtostyle porches with balconies above on the north and west elevations. The main facade on the west features a Palladian window above the porch. The basement-level garage was added sometime before 1924, and the sun porch above it was added in the mid-1950s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.^[6]

Porter Hall is a historic residence located in Centerville, Iowa, United States. The 2½-story frame house exhibits aspects of the Picturesque Tudor Revival style, especially in the half-timbering and stucco. The house gained its present appearance during the ownership of Dr. Charles James in the 1910s and 1920s. There is some question as to whether this is an older 1880s house that has been extensively remodeled. It receives its name from Claude R. Porter who owned this property from 1906 to 1909. Porter was a Democrat, who served two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives, two terms in the Iowa Senate, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, and a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. He was also a perennial candidate for Governor of Iowa and the U.S. Senate from Iowa, but lost every election to his Republican opponent. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[7]

Stratton House is a historic residence located in Centerville, Iowa, United States. The 1½-story brick house exhibits aspects of the Gothic Revival style, especially in its plan, steeply pitched gables and bargeboard trim. It was built by Jonathan F. Stratton. Stratton was a Pennsylvania native who moved to Michigan in 1820 where he was a surveyor, community leader, commissioner of highways and Justice of the Peace. In 1841 he was the first person to stake a claim in Appanoose County, near present-day Cincinnati, Iowa. After moving to Udell Township two years later his home was the location for the first religious service and the first election in the county. His wife taught several local children in their home making it the first school in the northern part of the county. He opened the first grist mill in the county in 1845. The following year, Stratton surveyed, platted and settled Centerville, which had been named the new county seat. He built this house in 1858, and died here in 1884. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.^[8]