Kings River
Centerville
Lt. Gabriel Moraga of the Spanish Army
on Jan. 6, 1806 camped near here on the
banks of a river never before seen by
white man. The day was Epiphany,
commemorating the visit of the three
kings of the East to the Christ Child.
This holy day suggested a name for
the stream, El Rio de los Santos Reyes
The River of the Holy Kings.
In the 1850s the village of Scottsburg
grew up east of here but was repeatedly
devastated by floods. It was relocated
here in 1868 and named Centerville. It
soon became a thriving trading and social
center and was a candidate for county
seat in 1874, but lost out to the new town
of Fresno. The establishment of Sanger in
1887 began the decline of Centerville
Dedicated this 21st day of October, 1979
by the Jim Savage Chapter 1852, E Clampus Vitus