Welcome to Centralia ...
Centralia is located in Chesterfield County<1>.
We aren't confident of the location of Centralia, so consider the above location as an estimate.<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Centralia, you might consider that their post office opened in 1880.
When the people of Centralia refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Centralian<3>
Centralia is 180 feet [55 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Centralia lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Centralia is located in the (804) area code.
Websites for Centralia ...
Chamber of Commerce: www.chesterfieldchamber.com/
Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Centralia, the following might be of interest:
Communities Also Named Centralia ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 16 communities that are also named Centralia - they are located in California, Florida (2), Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (2), Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Centralia.
Communities near Centralia ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Centralia.
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Richmond is located in Richmond City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232,226 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <5>
- Petersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Petersburg is located in Petersburg City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,446 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petersburg <5>
- Hopewell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Hopewell is located in Hopewell City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,375 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopewell <5>
- Colonial Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Heights
- Colonial Heights is located in Colonial Heights City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,205 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colonial Heights <5>
- Bensley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Cherry Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Gardens
- Cherry Gardens is located in Richmond County
- Walmsley Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walmsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walmsley Village
- Walmsley Village is located in Richmond County
- Meadowville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowville
- Meadowville is located in Chesterfield County
- Screamersville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Screamersville have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamersville
- Screamersville is located in Chesterfield County
- Varina Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varina Grove
- Varina Grove is located in Henrico County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Centralia. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Centralia.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Centralia. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Centralia.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Centralia. See our Newspapers Page for Centralia.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Centralia ...
Looking for more information about Centralia? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Centralia, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Centralia.
Adding Centralia to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Centralia in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Centralia was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Centralia post office opened in 1880.
We also found Centralia in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Centralia.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Centralia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Chesterfield County: www.co.chesterfield.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Chesterfield, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Centralia refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Centralia may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Centralia - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |