City of Centerville

Centerville City Hall

     The City of Centerville and its city hall are located on Highway 21 in Reynolds County. The nearby Black River attracts local visitors as well as tourists from all over the state for camping, fishing, swimming, and water skiing. The Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission works with Centerville in the area of economic development.

     According to the 2000 census, Mayor Dennis Caruso and the four-member city council serve a population of 171 citizens. Centerville has five full-time policemen and a volunteer Fire Department.

     The per capita income of Reynolds County, in 1999, was $16,395. The unemployment rate of Reynolds County in February, 2001, was 9.9 percent, with an available workforce of 2,586. Only 239 people in Reynolds County are unemployed with 2,347 having gainful employment. The average hourly wage for the county, as of March, 2000, is $8.88 per hour in the manufacturing sector and $13.06 in non-manufacturing. The county's major employers are The Doe Run Mining Company, a hard rock mining company with approximately 550 employees, Baker Enterprises, a lumber mill equipment manufacturer, with 120 employees; Lesterville School, with 75 employees; Reynolds County Memorial Hospital, with 65 workers; and Brent B. Tinnin Manor, a residential care facility, and Brawley & Flowers, a lumber wholesaler, both with 50 employees.

     Black River Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Fredericktown, MO, provides electric power for Centerville. The city provides water for its residents from its own ground well. Telephone service is obtained from Century Tel, headquartered in Marion, LA. Internet service is available from two local ISPs.

     Residents of Centerville receive medical services from physicians in Ellington, Salem, Farmington, and Poplar Bluff. There is a 29-bed hospital in the county.

     Centerville students attend elementary and middle school in town. High School students travel to either Lesterville or Ellington High Schools.The nearest public community college, Three Rivers Community College, is located in Poplar Bluff and boasts an enrollment of 2,824 (fall, 2001). A.V. Technical School, the nearest public tech facility located in Ironton, has a current enrollment of 450 students. Mineral Area College, a public four-year college located in Park Hills, MO, is the nearest higher learning facility. Fall, 2001, enrollment for the university was 2,913 students.

     Residents in Reynolds County travel Missouri Highways 72, 21, A, and 32. It is 50 miles to the nearest four-lane thoroughfare and 80 miles to the interstate.

     Piedmont Airport, located 50 miles away, is the nearest public airport. It has a one-half mile long paved and lighted runway. Private aircraft storage and aviation fuel are available. The nearest commercial airport is Rolla/Vichy National Airport in Rolla, MO.

    Residents do their banking at Sun Security, and worship at either the Catholic church or two Protestant churches. Centerville has a weekly newspaper.

     Average temperatures for the area range from 20 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 89 degrees Fahrenheit in July. The average annual precipitation is 46 inches.

     The city is represented by State Representative J.C. Kuessner (D) in the 152nd District and 3rd District State Senator Kevin  Engler (R).  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R) represents Centerville in the Eighth Congressional District.