Passport To Centerville
Let us help you organize your visit so that it will be a memorable visit. Below you will find many points of interest to go to while in Centerville We also have some planned tours that will make your visit to Centerville a reason to come back. Don't forget to ask about having us customize a Passport of coupons full of free stuff and wonderful savings.
Tour Plan #1 Arrival time: 10:00 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m. The Shoppes at Bradley Hall; Guided tour & free time to shop.
- 11:00 a.m. Exline Old Country Store Lunch without dessert.
- 12:30 p.m. Divide into two groups.
- Group 1: Trolley tour of the Historic Courthouse Square District
- Trolley Cost: $5.00 Group 2: Visit specialty shops on the square.
- 1:30 p.m.
- Group 1: Visit specialty shops on the square.
- Group 2: Trolley tour of the Historic Courthouse Square District Trolley Cost: $5.00
- 2:30 p.m. One of a Kind Bed & Breakfast; Dessert.
- 3:15 p.m. Appanoose County Historical & Coal Mining Museum.
- 4:45 p.m. The Columns;More shopping.
- 5:45 p.m. Dinner at The Continental Hotel & Restaurant.
- 7:00 p.m. Departure.
Tour Plan #2 Arrival time: 10:00 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m. Walk tour of historic Courthouse Square District and free time to visit specialty shops.
- 12:00 p.m. The Continental – Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. The Shoppes at Bradley Hall – Guided tour and free time to shop
- 3:00 p.m. Wabash Depot Museum, Moravia
- 4:15 p.m. Rathbun Fish Hatchery – Rathbun Lake
- 5:30 p.m. The Lakeshore Grill – Honey Creek Resort
Centerville's Appanoose County Courthouse.
Centerville Square is known to be the biggest square in the World without stoplights.
Founded in 1846 by Jonathon Stratton, under the name of Chaldea, the town was planned around a unique two-block-long city square. The name was later changed from Chaldea to Centerville and incorporated in 1855.
There has been so many history making events that have happened in or on the Centerville Court House Square. Like; In 1922
Norma Talmadge, Movie actress appeared in Love’s Redemption, It’s A Wonderful Life. This movie was filmed on the Centerville Square. Also: In 1931;
John Llewellyn Lewis was born in Iowa on February 12th, 1880. At 15, he found work as a miner in Illinois. He joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and eventually was elected Branch Secretary. John addressed striking coalminers on the Centerville Square.
It is also the site of the annual Pancake Day festival. It's a tradition that began in 1949 where Centerville businesses cook up and serve free pancakes all day as a "thank you" to customers. We're told not to miss the Pancake Day Parade.
The Historic Continental Hotel on the Centerville Square.
The Continental has a very rich history, having been the lodging for many famous (and infamous) individuals including Booker T. Washington, Carrie Nation, Simon Estes, and Jesse & Frank James, just to name a few.
-
Booker T. Washington
-
Jesse & Frank James
-
Carrie Nation
-
Simon Estes
In 1962, a bomb exploded on Continental Flight 11, which was the first terrorist act on a commercial jetliner in history. It happened over Appanoose County. The world media agencies converged upon the Continental Hotel in Centerville, Iowa to hold their press conferences. The Continental Hotel is a huge part of Centerville’s history.
Most of its life, the building has served as a hotel until the early 1990s. After years of changes and economic fluctuations, the building began to deteriorate and soon the roof collapsed allowing animals to inhabit the building. The Continental seemed destined for demolition. This action, many feared, would be the beginning of the end for Centerville’s business district on the “World’s Largest Town Square”.
In 1996, a successful business man and native to the Centerville area, Morgan Cline, returned to the square and saw the beauty in The Continental. With a love for old architecture and his generosity, he restored the building. Today, The Continental operates as two businesses. It is both an apartment building for the well-elderly as well as one of the area’s leading restaurants.
Completed in 1909, D.C. Bradley's home was built at 519 Drake, along Centerville's "Gold Coast" area. With 10,000 square feet and 22 rooms, depending on how you count them, the Bradley home became the social center of Centerville, complete with a ballroom on the third floor.
The D.C. Bradley residence was featured in the July-August 1921 issue of Country Homes magazine. The article's author described the home's massively built walls, high chimneys, clerestory and hip roof as Dutch Colonial, with definite Japanese influence in the "saucy curl outwards of the roof at the eves," an effect that is "harmonious, both artistically and historically."
Inside, there is an abundance of treasures, such as beautifully stained and leaded glass doors and windows, massively beamed ceilings, mahogany paneled walls, cut-glass-candelabra, mosaic tile and hard wood floors, cedar-lined closets, Corinthian columns. French doors, four fireplaces, and a mahogany-railed grand staircase, frescoed ceilings and built in china and linen closets. Outside stands the carriage house, reminiscent of horse drawn carriages filled with family and friends arriving under the portico. In its day, the home's grounds featured large formal gardens with masses of flowers and shade and ornamental trees. A hothouse, complete with its own stained glass windows, contributed to the upkeep of the grounds.
Through the years, the Bradley mansion served as a private residence, a nursing home, classrooms for college and elementary students and administrative offices for the Centerville Community Schools. In 1998, Morgan Cline, an East coast advertising executive with local roots, purchased the house from the public schools. January through August of 1999 was the renovation stage. Partitions and fluorescent lights came down, the woodwork was cleaned, the wood floors were refinished, walls were painted and papered, carpet was scraped off the tile flooring and the ceramic tile roof was removed, repaired and in some areas, replaced. Mr. Cline's philanthropic vision of Bradley Hall was to preserve it indefinitely and in a fashion that would allow it to be enjoyed by all. Thus evolved The Shoppes At Bradley Hall.
It's been rumored that Al Capone and Fred Burke had visited the Bradley's home back in 1930. Rumor has it that Al Capone came in to Centerville with his number one machine gunner Fred Burke.
Fred entered the Centerville Court House under an assumed name of Richard F. White and acquires a marriage certificate and marries Bonnie Porter just off the square. They then went to the Bradley's home during a party that evening. Al Capone stopped and visited looking to find some new bootleggers and whiskey runners to work for him.
"A frame building that will be in keeping with Mr. Wooden's usual enterprising spirit..."
...stated the published announcement of the letting of the contract to build the lovely home at 107 East Washington Street in Centerville, Iowa, now known as The Columns. Built in 1895, the house was a model of modern architecture, and its interior arrangement for comfort and convenience made it one of the most handsome homes of the time in the city. It contains a beautiful open staircase, wide, carved woodwork, large, airy rooms, pocket doors, several fireplaces, thick brick walls, a quaint attic and a full basement, and a back stairway into the kitchen. Outside, two-story ionic columns connect the second-floor balcony and the welcoming front porch. A portico extends over the driveway. In the early years, there were fish ponds and elegant willow trees.
Exline, an old coal mining town of 191 people, was in need of a local gathering spot for its residents. Morgan Cline, a retired advertising executive, grew up on a farm south of Exline and was a member of the last graduating class of Exline High School. When Cline saw a need for a community space in Exline, the idea for the Old Country Store was born.
The Exline Old Country Store & Antique Exchange opened in October 2003 on Main Street. Today, the store’s 4,000 square feet are home to antiques, groceries, snacks, books, crafts, and more. You can fill up with Sinclair gasoline, or rest by the pot-belly stove in the “Sit & Spit Corner.” (Sorry, no spitting allowed!) And in warm weather, you’ll find wood rocking chairs are kept on the porch just waiting for weary travelers and Exline folks to sit and chat.
Stop by for breakfast, lunch or dinner—everything’s delicious. Be sure to join the Coffee Club for just $3.99 and get your own mug. The rest of your fill-ups are just 25 cents a cup
Saturday Morning on the Square
Saturday Morning has a wide variety of interesting and special items for your shopping enjoyment. Plan to spend some time with us.
With such an eclectic array of items that changes every week it is almost impossible to browse without finding something you just can’t live without.
If you don’t see what you are looking for we have a small staff of friendly faces that can help you find what you require or help with ideas to meet your needs.
You never know what you might find and with so many different and intriguing items you are sure to find that something special you didn’t even know you were looking for!
