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“A Quiet Friendly City Dedicated to Community Service”

Centerville is a family friendly community that works closely with our business partners. We are part of a fast growing area of Georgia. With outstanding schools, affordable housing and convenient shopping and dining, we provide an attractive environment for incoming families and businesses. Our City employees know our citizens as friends and are there to assist them with personal and professional service. Centerville is business friendly.  We will be happy to speak with you about establishing a business enterprise. It is the pleasure of the Governing Body to invite you to come and visit our City and meet our citizens.

News & Announcements

Public Announcements:

  • The City of Centerville is seeking qualified contractors for construction on Center Park at Centerville. To be considered, proposals must be received by 4:00 p.m. December 5, 2019. See here for RFP.
  • The City of Centerville and City Council recognizes the impact that special events have on the availability of city services and therefore has adopted a Special Events procedure to license and regulate special events. If you are interested in hosting/organizing a Special Event within the City of Centerville, please complete the Special Event Permit Application HERE.
  • Applications for Centerville’s 10th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade are now available! You can find the application Here and a list of all safety rules Here. Applications are due by November 15, 2019.
  • Current 2019 Tax Digest and 5 year History.
  • If you are interested in volunteering at the Centerville Recycling Center you will need to complete the appropriate volunteer release form and contact City Hall at 478-953-4734 or the Centerville Recycling Center at 478-975-0600.
  • The City of Centerville has revised the Solid Waste, Garbage Collection Fees and Sanitation Guidelines for Residential Customers. Please click on the following link to view these changes.

Online Bill Payment:   In order to serve you better, the City of Centerville provides online bill payment for its citizens.  Utility bill payments can be made online by clicking the following link.  City property tax bills can be paid in person at 300 E. Church Street or by visiting our website by clicking the following link.

New Zoning Map:   The City of Centerville publishes its zoning map online as an interactive map.   [more detail]

The Legend of the City of Centerville

The 1847 map of Houston County shows the settlement of BUSBY, where the modern City of Centerville now stands.  The history states that this area has also been known as LaVilla, Gunn, Dunbar, and Toy at various times.

It has been an area designated the Upper Fifth Land District for at least as far back as 1847.

Daniel Gunn had a General Store on the Perry-Macon Road.  He had received a land grant for his services in the Revolutionary War.  Other family names associated with the original settlers are:  Bass, Dorsett, Sledge, Todd, Howard, Clark, Costello, Kemp, Bateman, Garvin, Kersey, Stalnaker, Sullivan, White, Stembridge, and Scarborough.

An 1882 map shows the town as Busbayville.  The area map of 1888 shows it as Centerville.  We can assume that the present name was adopted at some point between 1882 and 1888.  Centerville owes its name to its location, which is halfway between Byron and Wellston: halfway between Macon and Perry.

Around 1900, the citizens applied for a local Post Office.  Postal authorities required a different name for the town since there was already a Centerville Post Office in Gwinnett County.  So they changed the name to HATTIE in honor of the daughter of Mitchell F. Etheridge, a State Representative.  After a few years, the Post Office was moved to Byron, and Hattie was once again named Centerville.

The City of Centerville was incorporated under a charter issued March 25, 1958 by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia.  The City of Centerville is probably one of the youngest cities in the State of Georgia.

Superior Court Judge A.M. Anderson swore in Sherrill Stafford as Mayor: Mark Mathews, Earl Sims, Ira Garvin, and Paul Stalnaker as councilmen.

According to the 1960 census, Centerville’s first official population count was 290.  The 2010 Census counted Centerville’s population at 7,148.