Danville

History

18th century

Numerous Native American tribes had lived in this part of the Piedmont region since prehistoric times. During the colonial period, the area was inhabited by Siouan language-speaking tribes.

In 1728, English colonist William Byrd headed an expedition sent to determine the true boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. Late that summer, the party camped upstream from what is now Danville. Byrd was so taken with the beauty of the land, that he prophesied a future settlement in the vicinity, where people would live "with much comfort and gaiety of Heart." He named the river along which they camped as the "Dan", for Byrd felt he had wandered "From Dan to Beersheba."

After the American Revolutionary War, the first settlement developed in 1792 downstream from Byrd's campsite, at a spot along the river shallow enough to allow fording. It was named "Wynne's Falls", after the first settler. The village developed from the meetings of pioneering Revolutionary War veterans, who gathered annually here to fish and talk over old times.

In 1793, the state General Assembly authorized construction of a tobacco warehouse at Wynne's Falls. This marks the start of the town as "The World's Best Tobacco Market", Virginia's largest market for brightleaf tobacco. The village was renamed "Danville" by an act of November 23, 1793.

19th century

A charter for the town was drawn up on February 17, 1830, but by the time of its issue, the population had exceeded the pre-arranged boundaries. This necessitated a new charter, which was issued in 1833. In that year, James Lanier was elected the first mayor, assisted by a council of "twelve fit and able men."

By the mid-19th century, William T. Sutherlin, a planter and entrepreneur, was the first to apply water power to run a tobacco press. He became a major industrialist in the region.

In the mid to late 1800s, several railroads reached Danville, including the Richmond and Danville Railroad (completed 1856), and the Atlantic and Danville Railway (completed 1890). These enabled the export of Danville's manufacturing and agricultural products. The major growth in industry came in the late 19th century, after the war. The Southern Railway, successor to the Richmond and Danville, built a grand passenger station in Danville in 1899, which is still in use by Amtrak and is a satellite facility of the Virginia Museum.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Danville had a population of approximately 5,000 people. During the war years, the town was transformed into a strategic center of Confederate activity. William Sutherlin was named quartermaster of its depot. The rail center was critical for supplying Confederate forces, and a hospital station was established for Confederate wounded. A network of batteries, breastworks, redoubts and rifle pits defended the town.

A prison camp was set up, with the conversion of six tobacco warehouses, including one owned by Sutherlin, for use as prisons. At one time they held more than 5,000 captured Union soldiers. Malnutrition and dysentery, plus a smallpox epidemic in 1864, caused the death of 1,314 of these prisoners. Their remains have been interred in the Danville National Cemetery.

The Richmond and Danville Railroad was the main supply route into Petersburg, where Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was holding the defensive line to protect Richmond. The Danville supply train ran until General Stoneman's Union cavalry troops tore up the tracks. This event was immortalized in the song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

20th century

A serious train wreck occurred in Danville on September 27, 1903. "Old 97", the Southern Railway's crack express mail train, was running behind schedule. Its engineer "gave her full throttle", but the speed of the train caused it to jump the tracks while on a high trestle crossing the valley of the Dan River. The engine and five cars plunged into the ravine below, killing nine and injuring seven. The locomotive and its engineer, Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, were memorialized in song. A historic marker at the train crash site is located on U.S. 58 between Locust Lane and North Main Street. A mural of the Wreck of the Old 97 has been painted on a downtown Danville building to commemorate the incident.

Afterward Democrats forced African Americans out of office and suppressed their voting rights. In November 1883 Democrats regained control of the state legislature by a large majority, and pushed out the Readjuster Party.

White Democratic legislators interpreted the Danville events as more reason to push blacks out of politics. In 1902, the state legislature passed a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration, effectively disenfranchising most blacks and many poor whites, who had been part of the Readjuster Party. They excluded them from the political system, causing them to be underrepresented and their segregated facilities to be underfinanced.

On July 15, 1904, the Danville police successfully broke up a lynching party by firing warning shots above a crowd. About 75 white men had gathered at the jail to take Roy Seals, an African American man arrested as a suspect in the murder of a white railroad worker. The police saved Seals and the city quickly indicted some of the lynch mob; several men were convicted, fined and served 30 days in jail. The killer was found to have been another white man, who was prosecuted.

On March 2, 1911, Danville police chief R. E. Morris, who had been elected to three two-year terms and was running for a fourth term, was arrested as an escaped convicted murderer. He admitted that he was really Edgar Stribling of Harris County, Georgia. He had been on the run for thirteen years.

On October 13, 1917, Walter Clark was lynched. He was an African American man who had fatally shot a policeman while resisting arrest for the killing of his common-law wife. Clark held off the police for two hours, but a mob gathered and set his house on fire. He was shot multiple times and killed as he left the house. His was the last lynching in Danville.

21st century

The city and region continue to work to develop new bases for the economy. At the beginning of the century, in the 2000s, the economic losses made it challenging to preserve the city's many architecturally and historically significant properties dating from its more prosperous years.

In 2007, Preservation Virginia President William B. Kerkam, III, and its Executive Director Elizabeth S. Kostelny announced at a press conference held in Danville at Main Street Methodist Church that the entire city of Danville had been named as one of the Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia. This designation highlighted the importance of preserving Danville's architectural and historical heritage and drew attention to the challenges of maintaining these properties amid economic struggles.

Danville has been actively working to redevelop its River District as a hub for community life and economic activity. This effort includes revitalizing historic buildings, fostering local businesses, and promoting heritage tourism to attract visitors and stimulate economic growth.

In 2020, the city approved a referendum to open a casino at the site of the old mill. On December 17, 2024, Caesars Virginia opened to the public. It is expected to generate significant revenue and create jobs for the community.

Geography

Danville is located along the southern border of Virginia, 70 miles (110 km) south of Lynchburg and 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Greensboro, North Carolina, via U.S. Route 29. U.S. Route 58 leads east 78 miles (126 km) to South Hill and west 30 miles (48 km) to Martinsville.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 43.9 square miles (113.7 km2), of which 43.1 square miles (111.6 km2) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) (2.3%) is water.

Climate

Danville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Winter nights usually average below freezing, with air frosts being abundant during that season. During summer, it is influenced by the strong sun and convective air masses, providing both hot temperatures and frequent thunderstorms.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Danville had a population of 42,590. The median age was 43.0 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 84.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.0 males age 18 and over.

96.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 19,015 households in Danville, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.1% were married-couple households, 22.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 43.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 22,259 housing units, of which 14.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.7%.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, Danville had a population of 43,055. The racial makeup of the city was White Non-Hispanic 46.7%, African American 48.3%, Hispanic 2.9%, Asian 0.9%, Native American or Alaska Native 0.2%, and two or more races 1.3%.

25.4% of the population never married, 46.6% were married, 5.4% were separated. 11.6% were widowed and 11.0% were divorced.

Economy

Businesses

Japan Tobacco International

Caesars Virginia

Sovah Health – Danville

Goodyear

Nestlé

Swedwood, a subsidiary of IKEA, opened its first factory in the U.S. in this city, in 2008. It employed more than 300 people but closed in December 2019.

Morgan Olson

Arts and culture

River District

Prior to the recession of 2008, the City of Danville and its partners began a major project focused on the revitalization of the Historic Downtown and Tobacco Warehouse districts, now coined "The River District." The project continues with a new momentum as the public sector has joined the movement. See Danville River District.

Garland Street and historic districts

Millionaire's Row has many homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by successful tobacco planters, who gained their wealth in this commodity crop. The mansions are in an area of many street trees and often have their own well-developed landscaping.

The entire area of Penn's Bottom, the nickname for the part of Main Street that was developed as the first suburb of Danville during the tobacco boom of the late 19th century, has been designated as a historic district. Other recognized historic districts include The Old West End, Tobacco Warehouse, Downtown Danville, Holbrook–Ross Street, and North Main.

Also located in this district is the "Sutherlin Mansion", now used as the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. This Italianate mansion was the plantation home of Major William T. Sutherlin, a major tobacco processing industrialist, banker, politician, and Confederate quartermaster.

In April 1865, Sutherlin offered his mansion to President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet as the site of the last "Capitol of the Confederacy" after the fall of Richmond. The museum and its grounds occupy a block in this district.

In the late 19th century, Sutherlin's surrounding plantation was subdivided and developed to create the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Churches

Danville is known as "the city of churches" because it has more churches per square mile than any other city in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Shopping

Danville Mall, formerly Piedmont Mall, opened in 1984.

Government

From 1948 until 2004, Danville was a consistent Republican stronghold in presidential elections. However, John Kerry won the city by 37 votes in 2004, and since then it has swung heavily into the Democratic column by margins of usually over 20 percentage points.

Municipal

Danville has a council–manager government in which a city manager is hired by council to supervise the city government and ensure that the ordinances and policies made by the city council are carried out in an effective manner.

The city council consists of nine members elected from single-member districts representing residents. The city council selects the mayor and vice mayor from among its members to serve two-year terms.

The city council has the power "to adopt and enforce legislative and budgetary ordinances, policies, and rules and regulations necessary to conduct the public's business and to provide for the protection of the general health, safety and welfare of the public."

In 2025, City Councilman Lee Vogler was set on fire by a man who knew Vogler personally and alleged that his wife had cheated with Vogler. After the attack, Vogler was airlifted to the burn unit at UNC-Chapel Hill. The man was diagnosed with multiple conditions that led to a disassociative episode during his time at Central State Hospital, where he spent two weeks in custody after the attack. The man was convicted of aggravated malicious wounding, for which the man received a life sentence suspended to 35 years, and attempted first-degree murder, for which the man received a 10-year sentence suspended to 5 years.

Sports

The Danville Braves were a minor league baseball team in Danville from 1993 to 2020. They competed in the Appalachian League as a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves played their home games at American Legion Field.

In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Braves were replaced by the Danville Otterbots in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.

Education

Elementary and high schools

Galileo Magnet High School

George Washington High School

Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

O.T. Bonner Middle School

Westwood Middle School

E.A. Gibson Elementary School

Forest Hills Elementary School

G.L.H. Johnson Elementary School

Park Avenue Elementary School

Schoolfield Elementary School

Woodberry Hills Elementary School

Private schools

Westover Christian Academy

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Legacy Christian Academy

Rivermont School Danville

Colleges and universities

Averett University

Danville Community College

Danville Regional Medical Center School of Health Professions

Stratford College, 1930–1974

Media

Newspapers

Chatham Star Tribune

Danville Register & Bee

Magazines

Evince

Showcase Magazine

Radio

WAKG (103.3 FM)

WBTM (102.5 FM)

WDVA (1250 AM)

WMPW (105.9 FM), branded as MoreFM

WWDN (104.5 FM)

Television

Danville is served by television stations in the Roanoke/Lynchburg television market.

WSET-TV, ABC, affiliate based in Lynchburg

WSLS-TV, NBC, affiliate based in Roanoke

WDBJ, CBS, affiliate based in Roanoke

WFXR, Fox, affiliate based in Roanoke

WWCW, CW affiliate based in Lynchburg

WPXR-TV, ION, affiliate based in Roanoke

WMDV-LD, an independent television station owned by the Martinsville, VA-based Star News Corporation

Danville was once the home of WDRL-TV 24, a station that was an affiliate of the WB and United Paramount Network before changing ownership from 2007 to 2014. Today, it is known as WZBJ, a sister channel of WDBJ and is owned by Gray Television.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Amtrak's Crescent train connects Danville with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans. The Danville station, built in 1899 by Southern Railways, is situated at 677 Craghead Street.

U.S. Route 58 (Riverside Dr/River St) parallels the north bank of the Dan River traveling east–west through Danville's main commercial district while the US 58 Bypass route bypasses the city's center to the south via the Danville Expressway.

U.S. Route 29 splits into a business route and a bypass at the North Carolina/Virginia border. The business route enters the heart of Danville via West Main Street and Memorial Drive and exits via Central Boulevard and Piney Forest Road; US 29 Business travels relatively north–south. The bypass (future Interstate 785) takes the eastern segment of the Danville Expressway and rejoins the business route north of the city near Chatham, Virginia.

U.S. Route 360, which connects Danville with Richmond, enters the city from the east concurrent with U.S. Route 58 (South Boston Road), continuing along U.S. Route 58 Business at the Danville Expressway interchange, and terminating at the North Main Street intersection just north of downtown.

U.S. Route 311 in 2013 was expanded from North Carolina to terminate just outside Danville's western limits at U.S. Route 58.

North Carolina Highway 86 becomes State Route 86 once it crosses the state line into Danville as South Main Street. It continues north to its terminus at US 29 Business/Central Boulevard.

State Route 293 was created in 1998 to mark the route of old US 29 Business, which was rerouted to the west. SR 293 enters Danville's downtown historic district as West Main Street, then Main Street, and then crosses the Dan River to meet US 29 Business as North Main Street.

State Route 51 parallels US 58 Business as Westover Drive from its western terminus at US 58 Business at the Danville's corporate limits to its eastern terminus at US 58 Business near the Dan River.

In popular culture

"It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville" are lyrics in "Wreck of the Old 97" a song memorializing the September 27, 1903, event that became arguably the most famous train wreck in U.S. history.

The Richmond and Danville Railroad, referenced as "the Danville train", is also mentioned in the popular folk-style song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."