Historic
C
C E N T E R V I L L E
Walking Tour
“The Archway to History”
Welcome to Centerville, Indiana - a historic village that was an important stop
along the National Road in the 19th century. The National Road was the western
immigration trail connecting Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. As many as 200
wagons a day passed through Centerville from the the road’s completion through the
California Gold Rush and the American Civil War. Inns and hotels lined the crowded
streets and the town provided provided wagon shops, saddle shops and tanneries for
travelers.
"
The arches of Centerville’s buildings are highly regarded today as unique
architecture within Indiana. Many of the archways were built around the completion of the
National Road in 1832. Many buildings built prior to 1873 have been preserved and now
comprise Centerville’s historic district of over 100 buildings listed on the National Register
of Historic Places.
N
W
Maplewood Park
3
E
Plum Street
13
S
2
14
5
1
7
Walnut Street
8
6
4
First Street
9
10
Morton Avenue
11
Ash Street
12
Spruce Street
Old Na'onal Road -­‐ US 40 -­‐ Main Street
2 . Salisbury Courthouse
1. Mansion House
214 East Main Street
Federal/Greek Revival
style
c. 1837-1848
The hotel, built in 1840
by Henry Rowan, served
as the office for the
Western Stage Company
where stagecoaches changed horses and mail
was delivered. It is now owned by Historic
Centerville Inc.
Immediately
behind Mansion
House
Log Construction
The first
courthouse
serving Wayne
County was built
in 1811 and 1812
in Salisbury, a now extinct town and the first
government seat in Wayne County. In 1818
the county seat was moved to Centerville.
After many uses and moves over the years, the
log structure was reconstructed at this site in
1998. It is the only original log court house
still standing in the old Northwest Territory
states.
4. Backenstoe’s Archway
139 East Main Street
c. 1835
Levi Backenstoe (spelling
uncertain), a maker of tin ware,
purchased this building in 1839. It
was built by Eleazor Malone who
also built the Malone
Archway (see number
10). It was from the
Backenstoe archway
that Alfred Lashley
aimed the cannon at
the county jail in 1873
(see number 5).
3. Jacob Julian
House
116 E. Plum Street
Italianate Federal style c. 1857
This home was built in
1856 for Julian: an attorney, bank president,
and two-term state legislator. Fearing
economic decline for Centerville when the
county seat was moved to Richmond, he
migrated to a farm east of Indianapolis
where he and Sylvester Johnson founded
the town of Irvington, now a suburb of
Indianapolis. Jacob Julian’s brother,
George, was another prominent
Centerville statesman. George, a six-term
US congressman, lived where the Village
Pantry now stands. Private residence
6. Morton’s Row and Dill Archway
107-111 S. Morton Avenue
Federal Style c. 1830
5. Early Wayne County Jail •
Centerville Public Library
126 East Main Street
Ornate Italianate Renaissance style c. 1867-68
The battle for the county seat traces its
roots to this building, built in 1867 to serve
as the county sheriff ’s home and jail. With
the advent of railroads, Richmond became
the leading city in the county and its
citizens wanted the courthouse and the jail.
Efforts to move the jail to Richmond
resulted in armed conflict in 1873. Two
holes above the Main Street door were
made by “Black Betty” a six-pounder
cannon positioned in the Backenstoe
archway across the
street to prevent
removal of the jail
to Richmond.
Richmond
prevailed, and the
sheriff ’s home
became the home
of the Masons for
many decades.
The public library acquired the building in
1997 and renovated it to its current state.
Visit the library to learn about genealogy and
history of Centervi$e. Also see artwork by local
residents, past and present. Library hours are 10
to 7:30 Monday-Thursday, and 10 to 5 Friday and
Saturday.
These three units exemplify the utilitarian
nature of the shop-home construction, an
important aspect of Centerville’s architectural
heritage. From 1838-1848, its occupants were a
boot and shoemaker, a clockmaker and
Alexander Dill, a noted cabinetmaker.
7. United Methodist
Church
112 S. Morton Avenue
This Methodist church has three
distinctions in Centerville, the
oldest church in Centerville,
beginning in 1820; the longest
continuous congregation, still
active today; and the oldest
church structure, built in 1842.
The light brick facing was added
in 1922.
8. Robert Underwood Johnson
Home
111 West Walnut Street
Born in Washington,
DC in 1853, but raised
in Centerville, Johnson
graduated from
Earlham College and
then began a 40-year
career with Scribner’s
Monthly/Century
magazine, eventually its editor from
1909-13. He was a leading figure in the
passage of the American Copyright Law
and was a strong backer of John Muir
and his efforts to protect natural spaces.
The Johnson home was first owned by
Ransom Vaile, a teacher at Centerville’s
Whitewater Seminary, and the structure
is still locally known as the Vaile House.
Private residence.
9. American House Hotel
101 West Main Street
Federal Style c. 1840
This was a first-class National Road
hotel kept by Samuel Hanna, a
prominent merchant and statesman.
Also Henry Rowan and his son were
long-time proprietors. Originally it had
a grand
entryway
comprised
of two sets
of double
doors.
11. A.C. Shortridge House and
Archway
205 West Main Street
Federal style c. 1820-25-30
10. Malone Archway and Row
Houses
119-121-1211/2 West Main Street
Greek Revival with Italianate brackets
c. 1835
Built by Eleazor Malone, an
accomplished bricklayer, and
patterned after the row
houses of his native
Maryland, these two
houses were later
owned by Martin Ray,
a lawyer and merchant
and the brother of
James B. Ray, the
Governor of Indiana
from 1825-31.
Abram C.
Shortridge
was a noted
educator who
taught at
Centerville’s
Whitewater
Academy in
1855. From
here, he
moved to Indianapolis and served as
superintendent of public education from
1863-1974. He then became president of
Purdue University. Shortridge High
School in Indianapolis bears his name.
12. Governor Oliver P. Morton
Home
313 West Main Street
Greek Revival c. 1947-48
Built in 1848 by Jacob Julian, the house was
purchased in 1857 by Morton, Indiana’s
Civil War governor. Morton was a strong
supporter of the Union cause and an important
ally to Abraham Lincoln. The Morton home is
undergoing extensive restoration. Private
residence.
14. James Raridan Town House
129 West Main Street
Federal style c. 1830-35
Raridan, an eminent lawyer, became an
important politician who served as a state
legislator and a representative in the U.S.
Congress. In 1842, he held a reception in
town for the
great
Kentucky
orator, Henry
Clay. He was
also a friend of
President
Zachary
Taylor.
13. Lantz House Inn Bed & Breakfast
212-214 West Main Street
Federal style c. 1823-1835
This "archway
house," was
originally the
home and shop
of accomplished
wagon maker,
Daniel Lantz.
The building
next door was
built in 1826 by
Israel Abrahams,
a merchant.
Above his store was a room which Abraham
provided for Methodist Church meetings and
Masons’ meetings. This room was made
accessible by the one-man stairway recessed in
the archway. The Inn now operates as a bed and
breakfast. Call 765-855-2936 or visit
lantzhouseinn.com for tours or reservations.
Thank you for visiting Centerville, one of Wayne County’s many
historic communities. For more information about Wayne
County, visit www.visitrichmond.org.
The Centerville Walking Tour is one of many walking tours of
cities and towns located on the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway
and the Presidential Pathways Scenic Byway in southeastern
Indiana and southwestern ohio. We encourage you to explore
the many sites along the Byways’ two main routes and three loop
routes in the Whitewater River valley.
Funding for this project came from an Indiana Humanities
Grant to the Whitewater Canal Byway Association. For more
information, please visit www.whitewatercanalscenicbyway.org.