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Iowa County
Appanoose County, Iowa
Rathbun Lake and Iowa-Missouri border country - from Rathbun Lake (one of Iowa's largest lakes and a major outdoor recreation destination, with 11,000 acres of water and 155 miles of shoreline attracting boaters, anglers, and campers from across southern Iowa and northern Missouri) to Appanoose County's coal mining heritage (the county was once a major Iowa coal producer, and the region's mining past is preserved in local museums and historical sites around Centerville).
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Office: Appanoose County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via appanoosecounty.iowa.gov.
Sheriff: Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office – PO Box 474, 22158 Dewey Road, Centerville, IA 52544 | (641) 437-7100 | Fax (641) 437-7107 | Email: [email protected]. Also handles county emergency management coordination.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-5 and IA-2 serve Centerville, the county seat, in south-central Iowa near the Missouri border.
Notes: Appanoose County was originated by the Iowa Territorial Legislature on January 13, 1846, named for a Sauk/Meskwaki chief. Centerville was founded in 1846 by Jonathan Stratton as “Chaldea,” planned around a two-block town square, then renamed “Senterville” for Tennessee politician William Tandy Senter before a spelling correction to Centerville when incorporated in 1855.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Appanoose County Courthouse – Centerville, IA (built 1903, designed by Wetherell & Gage, National Register of Historic Places since 1981, part of the Courthouse Square Historic District).
Notes: Centerville is genuinely notable for two distinctions. First, its Courthouse Square is Iowa’s largest historic town square, ringed by 119 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Second, Centerville’s annual Pancake Day – a free-pancake tradition for local businesses to thank patrons, held every September since 1949 – set an official Guinness World Record in 2021 by serving over 14,000 pancakes in a single event; the celebration has drawn national coverage in Time, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and has hosted notable visitors including politicians and entertainers over its 75-plus-year history. The county’s coal-mining boom in the early 1900s, centered on the Centerville Block Coal Company (formed 1894), drew waves of immigrants from Sweden, Italy, Croatia, and Albania, shaping the community’s ethnic heritage; Centerville hosted a Croatian Fest from 1987 to 2008.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Appanoose County Veterans Affairs – Courthouse, 201 N. 12th Street, Centerville, IA 52544 | confirm current contact via appanoosecounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Centerville Public Library (Centerville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Centerville’s historic Courthouse Square (119 NRHP-listed buildings), Pancake Day (September, free), and area fishing/hunting grounds – Centerville has been ranked among the top U.S. fishing and hunting destinations by Outdoor Life Magazine.
Notes: The genuine Guinness World Record for Pancake Day and Iowa’s largest historic town square are among the most distinctive small-town claims to fame covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Appanoose County Assessor’s Office – Courthouse, 201 N. 12th Street, Centerville, IA 52544.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Centerville Animal Control Officer – via City of Centerville, (641) 437-7100. Vicious/dangerous animal reports: Law Center, (641) 437-7100. Stray dog reports: Furever Friends Rescue of Appanoose, (641) 856-9455, 19507 Iowa Highway 2, Centerville, IA 52544. Lost pet inquiries: Centerville City Hall, (641) 437-4339. Animals held 7 days.
Office: Appanoose County Environmental Health (ADLM) – confirm current contact via appanoosecounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Appanoose County is the fourth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine Guinness World Record for Pancake Day and Iowa’s largest historic town square are among the most distinctive small-town claims to fame covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Appanoose County
Appanoose County is south-central Iowa’s Rathbun Lake and coal heritage county – the county’s identity is shaped by its coal mining past, the outdoor recreation economy around Rathbun Lake, and its position along the Iowa-Missouri border in one of Iowa’s more rural and historically distinctive southern counties.
Centerville (the county seat, population ~5,400) anchors Appanoose County and is known for its large town square, one of the largest in Iowa, which hosts community events and serves as the governmental and commercial heart of the county.
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Appanoose County Assessor at 201 N. 12th Street, Centerville, IA 52544, phone 641-856-3980. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Appanoose County District Court at 201 N. 12th Street, Centerville, IA 52544, phone 641-856-6101, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
201 N. 12th St., Centerville, IA 52544
(641) 856-6101
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Appanoose County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The county’s coal-mining heritage is a significant local historical resource.
Local societies
No dedicated Appanoose County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Appanoose County District Court, 8th Judicial District 201 North 12th Street, Centerville, IA 52544 (641) 856-6101 Appanoose County is on the Missouri border in south-central Iowa, historically tied to coal mining.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Appanoose County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
201 N. 12th St., Centerville, IA 52544
(641) 856-2224
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
201 N. 12th St., Centerville, IA 52544
(641) 856-6101
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
201 N. 12th St., Centerville, IA 52544
(641) 856-6101
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Appanoose County Health Dept
(641) 856-8571
Iowa DHHS — Region 6
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Mercy Medical Center (Centerville)
mercycenterville.org (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: ADLM (Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Monroe) Environmental Public Health – confirm current contact via appanoosecounty.iowa.gov.
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County Facts
County Seat: Centerville
Population: 12,000
Area: 495 sq mi
Established: 1843
Tier: 3
Public Records
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