Danville, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Danville | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nicknames: "The City of Firsts"; "Birthplace of the Bluegrass"; "Title Town" | |
 Location of Danville in Boyle County, Kentucky. | |
  Danville, Kentucky  Danville, Kentucky | |
| Coordinates:37°38′45″N84°46′21″W / 37.64583°N 84.77250°W /37.64583; -84.77250 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | Boyle |
| Settled | 1783 |
| Incorporated | 1787 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | James (J.H.) Atkins[1] |
| • City Manager | Earl Coffey |
| • Commissioners | Kevin Caudill Jennie Hollon Donna Peek Rick Serres[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.28 sq mi (44.76 km2) |
| • Land | 17.18 sq mi (44.50 km2) |
| • Water | 0.10 sq mi (0.26 km2) |
| Elevation | 958 ft (292 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 17,234 |
• Estimate (2022)[5] | 17,303 |
| • Density | 1,003.1/sq mi (387.29/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 40422-40423 |
| Area code | 859 |
| FIPS code | 21-19882 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404185[4] |
| Website | www |
Danville is ahome rule-class city[6] in and thecounty seat ofBoyle County, Kentucky, United States.[7] The population was 17,236 at the2020 census.[8] Danville is the principal city of theDanville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of the Boyle andLincoln counties. In 2001, Danville received a Great American Main Street Award from theNational Trust for Historic Preservation.[9] In 2011,Money magazine placed Danville as the fourth-best place to retire in the United States.[10] Centre College in Danville was selected to host U.S. vice-presidential debates in 2000 and 2012.[11]
Within Kentucky, Danville is called the "City of Firsts":
Danville was part of the Great Settlement Area around Fort Harrod (present-dayHarrodsburg), which was first settled in 1774. The site was originally known asCrow's Station for settler John Crow, but the town was surveyed and platted by Walker Daniel, Kentucky's first district attorney, who bought 76 acres (31 ha) near theWilderness Road from Crow in 1783. The city was named for Daniel.[14] TheVirginia legislature officially established Danville on December 4, 1787.[13]
Between 1784 and 1792, ten conventions were held in Danville to petition for better governance and ultimately to secure independence from Virginia. In 1786 theDanville Political Club was organized. It met each Saturday night atGrayson's Tavern to discuss the political, economic, and social concerns of the day. After a state constitution was adopted and separation was confirmed in 1792, the town ceased to be of statewide importance. Its leading citizens moved elsewhere.[15]
Transylvania University was founded in Danville in 1783. It moved toLexington in 1789.Centre College was founded in 1819. Danville Theological Seminary was founded in 1853; in 1901 it became part of theLouisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. TheCaldwell Institute for Young Ladies was founded in 1860. It becameCaldwell Female College in 1876,Caldwell College in 1904,Kentucky College for Women in 1913, and merged intoCentre College in 1926.[13]
In November 1806,Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of theLewis and Clark Expedition, visited Danville while traveling the Wilderness Road toWashington, D.C., to report on the expedition, which had returned from the Pacific Coast. In December 1806,William Clark visited his nephews in school in Danville before following Lewis to Washington.[16]
The first school in Danville for African-American children was founded around 1840 by Willis Russell, an emancipated slave of Robert Craddock, a Revolutionary War veteran. Craddock deeded a log house in Danville to Russell. He moved to the town after Craddock's death and started a school for children. The house on Walnut Street no longer stands, though what was once believed to be his house is now the Willis Russell Memorial Cabin. Russell's house stood across the street, opposite St. James African American Methodist Church.
In 1842,Boyle County was formed from southernMercer County and northernLincoln County. Danville became its county seat.[13]
In 1850, Danville and Boyle County backed construction of theLexington and Danville Railroad. Money ran out when the railroad reachedNicholasville.John A. Roebling had already built towers for a railroadsuspension bridge over theKentucky River. (Roebling lived in Danville during the construction.) Despite the railroad not being completed to Danville, the county still owed the company $150,000. It completed payment on time in 1884.[15][17]
In 1860, a fire devastated the city, destroying 64 buildings and causing more than $300,000 in damages. Boyle County's courthouse was destroyed;its replacement was completed in 1862.[13]
After theUnion Army won theBattle of Perryville in theCivil War on October 8, 1862, it appropriated many Danville buildings, including the courthouse, for use as hospitals. On October 11, a Union force droveConfederate forces from the county fairgrounds through Danville.[18]
In May 1864, the group of 250 – mostly enslaved males but including somefreedmen – marched from Danville to nearbyCamp Nelson inJessamine County, whereColonel Andrew Clark allowed them to enlist In theUnion Army after some initial hesitation. Arriving with wounds inflicted upon them en route, this group was the first to enlist at this site, where 10,000United States Colored Troops trained.[19]
In 1775, Archibald McNeill plantedKentucky's first recorded hemp crop at Clark's Run Creek near Danville. By 1889 Boyle County was one of the ten Kentucky counties which together produced more than 90% of the US yield. It was the state's largest cash crop until 1915, when it lost its market to importedjute.[20]
From the turn of the 20th century through the 1960s, Danville was home to a thriving African-American business sector located on and around 2nd Street on the western edge of what is nowConstitution Square Historic Site. The city demolished this business sector underurban renewal in the 1970s to provide for the expansion of Constitution Square Park.[21]
On October 5, 2000,Dick Cheney and SenatorJoe Lieberman, candidates forVice President of the United States, debated at Centre College during the2000 presidential election.[22] On October 11, 2012, Centre College again hosted the Vice-Presidential debate, this time between Vice PresidentJoe Biden andWisconsinRepresentativePaul Ryan.[11]
Danville is located in eastern Boyle County.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km2), of which 15.8 square miles (41.0 km2) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.58%, is water.[23]
Blue GrassCommunity Action Partnership provides DanTran bus service inside Danville.[24][25] BGCAP also connects Danville withLexington,Stanford,Junction City, andLancaster.[26]
U.S. Route 127 bisects Danville northwest (Harrodsburg) to south (Liberty).
U.S. Route 150 bisects Danville west (Perryville,Springfield) to southeast (Stanford).
U.S. Route 127 Bypass encircles the Danville from on the west and south. It runs concurrently with U.S. Route 150 Bypass from its southernmost point to the U.S. Route 150 intersection.U.S. Route 150 Bypass encircles Danville on the west and south. It runs concurrently with U.S. Route 127 Bypass from the intersection with U.S. Route 127 to its westernmost point.
Kentucky Route 33 enters Danville from north (Burgin,Versailles).
Kentucky Route 34 connects Danville northeast toU.S. Route 27 and on to Lexington.
Kentucky Route 37 connects Danville west toKentucky Route 243 near Penn's Store.
Kentucky Route 52 connects Danville east toLancaster.
Kentucky Route 2168 connects U.S. Route 127 with Kentucky Route 34 north of Danville.Stuart Powell Field (DVK), 3 miles (5 km) from downtown, serves as Danville's general aviation airport.Blue Grass Airport (LEX) in Lexington, 35 miles (56 km) away, provides the closest commercial service. More extensive commercial service is available fromLouisville International Airport (SDF), 82 miles (132 km) away, andCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), 127 miles (204 km) away.
Norfolk Southern Railway operates a freight rail yard in Danville. Its Louisville-Chattanooga line intersects with its Cincinnati-Chattanooga line just north of Danville.
Danville has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), with hot summers and moderately cold winters. Precipitation is abundant and well-spread, with an average of 47.85 inches (1,220 mm).
| Climate data for Danville, Kentucky (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1933–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) | 79 (26) | 87 (31) | 90 (32) | 95 (35) | 107 (42) | 103 (39) | 105 (41) | 104 (40) | 96 (36) | 83 (28) | 78 (26) | 107 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 64.1 (17.8) | 68.0 (20.0) | 75.8 (24.3) | 82.0 (27.8) | 87.9 (31.1) | 92.6 (33.7) | 94.2 (34.6) | 93.9 (34.4) | 91.3 (32.9) | 83.9 (28.8) | 73.9 (23.3) | 66.0 (18.9) | 96.3 (35.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 42.7 (5.9) | 47.1 (8.4) | 56.3 (13.5) | 67.5 (19.7) | 75.4 (24.1) | 83.4 (28.6) | 86.5 (30.3) | 86.0 (30.0) | 80.2 (26.8) | 68.6 (20.3) | 55.8 (13.2) | 46.1 (7.8) | 66.3 (19.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 33.0 (0.6) | 36.4 (2.4) | 44.8 (7.1) | 55.5 (13.1) | 64.7 (18.2) | 72.4 (22.4) | 75.9 (24.4) | 74.8 (23.8) | 68.5 (20.3) | 56.7 (13.7) | 44.9 (7.2) | 37.1 (2.8) | 55.4 (13.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 23.3 (−4.8) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 33.3 (0.7) | 43.6 (6.4) | 54.1 (12.3) | 61.4 (16.3) | 65.3 (18.5) | 63.7 (17.6) | 56.8 (13.8) | 44.8 (7.1) | 34.0 (1.1) | 28.0 (−2.2) | 44.5 (6.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 3.7 (−15.7) | 9.1 (−12.7) | 16.7 (−8.5) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 39.6 (4.2) | 49.6 (9.8) | 57.4 (14.1) | 55.2 (12.9) | 42.9 (6.1) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 19.2 (−7.1) | 15.3 (−9.3) | −0.2 (−17.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −20 (−29) | −18 (−28) | −6 (−21) | 17 (−8) | 27 (−3) | 41 (5) | 47 (8) | 42 (6) | 32 (0) | 21 (−6) | −3 (−19) | −18 (−28) | −20 (−29) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.68 (93) | 3.69 (94) | 4.61 (117) | 4.21 (107) | 4.42 (112) | 4.66 (118) | 5.00 (127) | 3.18 (81) | 3.72 (94) | 3.47 (88) | 3.01 (76) | 4.20 (107) | 47.85 (1,215) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.2 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 9.2 | 11.5 | 123.1 |
| Source:NOAA[27][28] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 270 | — | |
| 1810 | 432 | 60.0% | |
| 1830 | 849 | — | |
| 1840 | 1,223 | 44.1% | |
| 1850 | 2,150 | 75.8% | |
| 1860 | 4,962 | 130.8% | |
| 1870 | 2,542 | −48.8% | |
| 1880 | 3,074 | 20.9% | |
| 1890 | 3,766 | 22.5% | |
| 1900 | 4,285 | 13.8% | |
| 1910 | 5,420 | 26.5% | |
| 1920 | 5,699 | 5.1% | |
| 1930 | 6,729 | 18.1% | |
| 1940 | 6,734 | 0.1% | |
| 1950 | 8,686 | 29.0% | |
| 1960 | 9,010 | 3.7% | |
| 1970 | 11,542 | 28.1% | |
| 1980 | 12,942 | 12.1% | |
| 1990 | 12,420 | −4.0% | |
| 2000 | 15,477 | 24.6% | |
| 2010 | 16,218 | 4.8% | |
| 2020 | 17,234 | 6.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 17,562 | [29] | 1.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[30] | |||
As of thecensus[31] of 2010, there were 16,218 people, 6,405 households, and 3,903 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,020.0/sq mi (393.8/km2). There were 7,180 housing units at an average density of 451.6/sq mi (174.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.2%White, 10.9%African American, 0.2%Native American, 1.0%Asian, 1.8% fromother races, and 2.8% from two or more races.Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.9% of the population.
Of the 6,405 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% weremarried couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83.
20.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 61.8% from 18 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.4 years. Females made up 54.4% and males made up 45.6% of the population aged 18 or older.
As of 2000, the median income for a household wasUS $32,938, and the median income for a family was $40,528. Males had a median income of $35,327 versus $24,542 for females. Theper capita income was $18,906. About 9.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
FBI crime statistics for 2009 list the crime rate (per 100,000 population) for Danville as follows:[32]
| Crime | Danville | Kentucky | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 258 | 260 | 429 |
| Murder | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Forcible rape | 32 | 35 | 29 |
| Robbery | 84 | 84 | 133 |
| Aggravated assault | 142 | 135 | 269 |
| Property crime | 3,587 | 2,513 | 3,061 |
| Burglary | 876 | 689 | 716 |
| Larceny-theft | 2,627 | 1,683 | 2,061 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 84 | 141 | 259 |
Danville Schools includes most of the city limits.[33] It operates Mary G. Hogsett Primary School, Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School, John W. Bate Middle School, andDanville High School for the city of Danville.Boyle County Schools operates Woodlawn Elementary School, Junction City Elementary School, Perryville Elementary School, Boyle County Middle School, andBoyle County High School for portions of Danville and the remainder of Boyle County.Kentucky School for the Deaf provides education to Kentucky's deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school.
A portion of Danville is in theBoyle County Schools district.[34]
Two private schools operate in Danville:
Centre College, a nationally recognizedliberal arts college, is located in Danville. Six other colleges and universities have (or had) campuses in Danville:
Danville has a lending library, the Boyle County Public Library.[37]
On March 2, 2010, Danville voted to go "wet" (to permit sale of packaged alcohol and sale of alcohol by the drink without restriction by size of premises).[38]
Five venues for theatrical productions live in Danville.
The Advocate-Messenger, a twice-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) newspaper, serves Danville and surrounding counties.
Local radio stations include three AM stations:WDFB-AM (1170),WHBN (1420),WHIR (1230), and three FM stations:WDFB-FM (88.1),WLAI(107.1), andWRNZ (105.1).
WDKY-TV was licensed to Danville but its facilities are located in Lexington.
Danville and Boyle County Black history is the subject of a 2022 book published by Arcadia Press, as "African Americans in Boyle County."
Martha S. Jones opens her book Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All, with her family story of three generations who resided in Danville. Great-great-great-grandmother Nancy Belle Graves was born enslaved in 1808. Nancy's daughter, Susan Davis, organized the Danville Domestic Economy Club for black women which encouraged voter participation and education. Susan and her husband, Sam, were both born enslaved. Fighting in theCivil War for theUnion, Sam became emancipated upon his 1864 enlistment in the 114thUnited States Colored Troops at nearbyCamp Nelson. After the passage of theFifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Sam voted in the1870 election. Their daughter,Frances Harriet Williams, organized for theNAACP, theYMCA, and served as a presidential advisor.[59]
Danville has one sister city, as designated bySister Cities International:
Danville Sister Cities won the 2019 Innovation Award for Arts and Culture from Sister Cities International.[61]
The following are highly noted people from Danville. For a more complete list, seeList of people from Danville, Kentucky.
In 1957, much of the movieRaintree County was filmed in Danville.
Danville is the hometown ofJohnny Joestar, the protagonist from themangaJoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run. The 1997 feature filmLawn Dogs was filmed in Danville.
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Municipalities and communities ofBoyle County, Kentucky,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
