Centerville, also known in its early days as Deuel Creek and Cherry Creek, was first settled in 1848 by Thomas Grover and Canys and William Devel, along with other early settlers who were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The first homes were built of logs dragged down from the mountains and were fastened with wooden pegs and rawhide thongs because nails were unavailable; later homes were made of adobe, and more substantial houses were built from rocks washed down from the hills or found in stream beds. Water for the community was diverted from four mountain streams named Deuel, Parrish, Barnard, and Ricks. In 1854, a grist mill was built on Deuel Creek. In 1863, residents began constructing a fort for protection from Indians, but the threat lessened and it was never completed. A log schoolhouse was built in 1851, and in 1852 Sanford Porter became the first bishop of the Centerville Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In 1865 William H. Smith became the second bishop and served until 1877, when he was called as the first stake president of the Davis County area. In 1866 William Reeves built a stagecoach station that he later converted into Elkhorn Hall for dances and local dramatic performances, and it still stands as a residence. The schoolhouse and hall also served for religious gatherings until a church building was constructed in 1879 at 1st South and 2nd East. Brigham H. Roberts made his home in Centerville, and Charles C. Rich lived there for a short time. The Bamberger Railroad line between Ogden and Salt Lake City served Centerville residents from 1804 to 1962, and a trolley line connected Centerville and Salt Lake City from 1913 to 1926. In 1915 local men petitioned the county to incorporate the settlement as a town so a culinary water system could be developed; this first system used wire-wrapped wood stave pipes that frequently leaked, and in 1936 the wood stave pipes were replaced by metal pipes. Centerville became a city in 1904. The community survived devastating floods in 1923 and 1930 that sent mud, rocks, and debris down the steep canyons, washing away homes and roads and inundating much of its valuable farmland.