Centerville in Hickman County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Centreville Fires
Historic Downtown Centerville
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, January 4, 2025
1. Centreville Fires Marker
Inscription.
Centreville Fires. . Centreville's first hotel, called Travelers Rest, was a log building on the northeast side of the square. In 1873, the building, then known as the Hornbeak House, caught fire and burned the entire eastern side of the square with it. Quillen Grocery, J.A. Cunningham photography, T.J. Walker Dry Goods, and the Brown building on the corner burned along with a grocery store and residence of Ransom Dean on Church Street. In 1930, another fire swept East Public Square and the north side of Church Street, beginning on the southern corner at the Lunn Hotel. It destroyed the hotel and its restaurant, Thompson and Thompson Grocery, Centreville Pool Hall, Nall's Shoe Shop, Nixon Grocery, Nixon School of Music, Bestway Grocery and the back portion of Farmers and Merchants Bank. The fire spread to the opposite side of Church Street but was contained by volunteer fire fighters.
Centreville's first hotel, called Travelers Rest, was a log building on the northeast side of the square. In 1873, the building, then known as the Hornbeak House, caught fire and burned the entire eastern side of the square with it. Quillen Grocery, J.A. Cunningham photography, T.J. Walker Dry Goods, and the Brown building on the corner burned along with a grocery store and residence of Ransom Dean on Church Street. In 1930, another fire swept East Public Square and the north side of Church Street, beginning on the southern corner at the Lunn Hotel. It destroyed the hotel and its restaurant, Thompson and Thompson Grocery, Centreville Pool Hall, Nall's Shoe Shop, Nixon Grocery, Nixon School of Music, Bestway Grocery and the back portion of Farmers and Merchants Bank. The fire spread to the opposite side of Church Street but was contained by volunteer fire fighters.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Disasters.
Location. 35° 46.702′ N, 87° 27.98′ W. Marker is in Centerville, Tennessee, in Hickman County. It is at the intersection of East Public Square and Short Street, on the right when traveling north on East Public Square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 200 E Public Square, Centerville TN 37033, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee and in the Highland Rim. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, January 4, 2025
2. Centreville Fires Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 29, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 197 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 29, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
