Site of Centerville
Gun Barrel City, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Replaced Buffalo as county seat, 1848, due to central location in county; on land donated by James Harper Starr (1809-90), Texas statesman. Clerk's records were kept in a log cabin courthouse. When county was reduced in area, 1850, county seat was moved to Athens, and Centerville died. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Centerville became the seat of its county in 1848, chosen for its central location and built on land donated by Texas statesman James Harper Starr, with the clerk's records kept in a log-cabin courthouse. But its moment was brief: when the county was reduced in size in 1850, the seat moved to Athens and Centerville faded away entirely. Only the marker recalls the vanished town.
Why it matters
Centerville is a classic Texas ghost town, a reminder of how shifting county lines could make or unmake a frontier settlement overnight.
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Related people
- · James Harper Starr
Themes & tags
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