Centerville, North Carolina

Centerville, North Carolina
City
Location of Centerville, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Franklin
Established	1882
Government
• Mayor	Margaret J. Nelms
Area
• Total	0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
• Land	0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	340 ft (100 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	99
• Density	348.5/sq mi (134.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	919
FIPS code	37-11560Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0982946Template:GR

Centerville is a tiny (99 people) city in the rural northeastern corner of Franklin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 99 at the 2000 census. There is no post office in Centerville, and thus no zip code; it simply uses that of Louisburg, which is located 12 miles west. "Downtown" Centerville is centered around the intersection of NC-561 and NC-58, and consists of three small old-fashioned country general stores, one each on three of that intersection's four corners. One has a butcher store inside (Hamlet's), two sell gasoline (Arnold's and Country Store), and one of those also sells diesel and kerosene (Country Store). All three sell basic general store items, such as toilet paper, soap, household cleaning products, canned and boxed food, etc., as well as common convenience store items such as sodas, snack foods, cigarettes, beer, etc.

Centerville has its own church (Centerville Baptist Church, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention), and fire department. There is no police department, so Centerville - like the surrounding unincorporated area - is patrolled by the Franklin County sheriff.

As is common in the rural stretches of eastern North Carolina, many of the houses in and around Centerville are quite old and in poor states of repair, and tobacco agriculture is the main use of land.

At 0.28 square mile, Centerville is among the smallest incorporated cities in North Carolina. Nearby cities and towns of larger size include Louisburg (12 miles west on NC-561, population 3,111), Warrenton (north on NC-58, population 811), and Castalia (10 miles south on NC-58, population 340).

Geography

Centerville is located at 36°11′6″N 78°6′41″W (36.184980, -78.111252)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 99 people, 41 households, and 30 families residing in the city. The population density was 348.5 people per square mile (136.5/km²). There were 51 housing units at an average density of 179.5/sq mi (70.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.93% White (92 persons) and 7.07% African American (7 persons), making it (as a percentage of population) significantly whiter than any other city or town within a 1-hour driving radius, and hence virtually crime-free.

There were 41 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.2% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,375, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $18,750 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,849. There were 10.0% of families and 6.5% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 14.3% of those over 64.