Centerville

The City of Centerville resides in the south eastern portion of Anoka County, in commissioner district three.

As part of our commitment to connect more deeply with each of our 21 cities and townships in Anoka County, we created a cemetery tour and display now on exhibit at the city hall in Centerville.

The display took shape as staff used the ACHS collections to research the individuals buried in St. Genevieve’s Cemetery. One resource for this is a birth and death ledger used between 1872 and 1907. When the user opens the book from one direction, the births are visible in cursive. When the user flips the book and begins reading from the other side, they will find the deaths listed. The information inside reveals vital statistics but also illustrates what details people cared to remember—for instance, a parent’s place of birth could be listed as “Canada,” “Province of Quebec,” “Canada East,” or “Province of Manitoba,” or “Quebec (Irish).”