Centerville Historic District

Centerville's historic core is a long, narrow strip of buildings along Main Street leading toward the harbor in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts. About 30 acres hold roughly 40 contributing buildings, a cemetery and two monuments, mostly from the 19th century. The district grew as sea trade and fishing brought wealth, replacing earlier settlement farther north along Phinney's Lane. The relocation of the Congregational Church to its present site in 1826 marks that shift. Shops, an inn and stagecoach stop, a post office, schools, churches and the homes of ship captains followed. Greek Revival and Italianate styles are especially well represented, from the c1690 Austin Bearse House, believed to be the oldest house in the village, to Queen Anne mansions such as Fernbrook, built in 1881. Clapboard siding and small-scale two-story forms give the street a cohesive, civic character. Later buildings gather around its edges, which helped define the boundaries. The district remains a working civic, commercial and social center.