Danville, Illinois

The area that became Danville was once home to the Miami, Kickapoo, and Potawatomi tribes of Native Americans.^[5][6] Danville was founded in 1827 on 60 acres (240,000 m²) of land donated by Guy W. Smith and 20 acres (81,000 m²) donated by Dan W. Beckwith.^[7] The sale of lots was set for April 10, 1827, and advertised in newspapers in Indianapolis, Indiana and the state capital of Vandalia.^[1] The first post office was established in May of the same year in the house of Amos Williams, organizer of Vermilion and Edgar Counties and a prominent Danville citizen. Williams and Beckwith drew up the first plat map; the city was named after Dan Beckwith at Williams' suggestion, although Beckwith suggested the names "Williamsburg" and "Williamstown". Beckwith was born in Pennsylvania in 1795 and moved to Indiana as a young man; in 1819 he accompanied the first white explorers to the area where Danville later existed because of his interest in the salt springs of the Vermilion River. He died in 1835 of pneumonia contracted on a horseback ride back from Washington; he was 40 years old.^[8]

In 1838 the Potawatomi Trail of Death camped and then passed through Danville.^[9][10] Four Potawatomi people died and were buried in Danville.^[11] In the mid-1800s Abraham Lincoln visited Danville over the course of approximately 18 years as he practiced law across the 8th Judicial Circuit.^[12][13] Danville was home to Ward Hill Lamon his law partner who later served as his bodyguard.^[14][15] Lincoln later gave a speech in his stocking feet from the balcony of Dr. William Fithian, a prominent Danville physician.^[16][17] The Fithian home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Vermilion County Museum.^[18] In 1882, a small group of Franciscan Sisters formed St. Elizabeth Hospital out of a 14-room hotel.^[19] In 1883 a horsecar based streetcar was established.^[20] In 1884 an opera house was constructed.^[21] In 1891 the streetcar system was converted to electric streetcars. This interurban streetcar network was substantial in communities south of Danville within the county, such as Catlin, Westville, Georgetown, and Ridgefarm.^[20]

Danville became a major industrial city in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. Starting in the 1850s Danville was an important coal mining area; some of the first open pit mining techniques were practiced here.^[22] The coal formation underlying eastern Illinois and western Indiana is named the "Danville Member," after the area where it was first discovered.^[23] Danville also served as a significant manufacturing center during the early 1900s, and the city's population doubled between 1900 and 1920.^[24] During this time Danville also acted as a rail hub for both passenger and freight service.^[24] Danville was the site of a riot in 1903, which led to the lynching of a black man and an assault on the county jail.^[25]

The Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers opened in 1898 and, by 1910, 4,257 veterans were at the branch.^[26] This branch was the eighth of ten branches founded by the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS), nationwide, between 1866 and 1929.^[27] The Soldiers' Home was a major center in-itself with its own passenger train service, streetcar line, mess hall, farms, livestock, lake, jail, hospital, bakery, laundry stables, stores, theater, chapel, mortuary, office buildings, power plant, print shop, shoemakers, tinsmiths, barber shop and fire department.^[28] The first Danville Public Library was formed out of various existing collections in 1883 and was replaced by a Carnegie library in 1904.^[29] In 1910, a group of 9 elephants escaped from a Ringling circus and ran through Danville before being recaptured.^[30][31]

An extension University of Illinois was created in Danville in 1946. The extension became an independent junior college in 1949.^[32] The college, later called Danville Area Community College, acquired several historic buildings from the Veterans Administration which were renovated throughout the 1960s for educational purposes.^[32] These acquisitions placed the college on a larger campus shared with the National Cemetery and modernized Veteran's Hospital.^[26] In the 1970s the enclosed Village Mall was constructed.^[33]

By 1966 only 6 mines remained in Vermilion County.^[6] With the closure of the mines and many factories, including a major General Motors plant, Danville's economic base suffered in the latter half of the 20th century and the population began to decline significantly.^[34][35] Many of the former mines were converted into lakes, creating fishing and recreation opportunities at parks such as Kickapoo State Recreation Area and Kennekuk Cove County Park. The 21st century has seen continued population decline but also major economic development initiatives including the restoration of the Fisher Theatre, expansion of major health care facilities, and the expansion of educational programs focused on job placement.^[36][37][38]

Danville is located approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Chicago, 35 miles (56 km) east of Champaign-Urbana, and 90 miles (140 km) west of Indianapolis, Indiana. Illinois Route 1, U.S. Route 136, and U.S. Route 150 intersect in Danville; Interstate 74 passes through the south end of town. The city lies on the Vermillion River, which is part of the Wabash River Valley. Lake Vermilion is located on the northwest side of town.

According to the 2010 census, Danville has a total area of 17.967 square miles (46.53 km²), of which 17.89 square miles (46.33 km²) (or 99.57%) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.20 km²) (or 0.43%) is water.^[39]

Neighborhoods

Danville is made up of many neighborhoods, of which 14 have or have had official neighborhood associations and 9 have official borders.^[40] The West Downtown neighborhood is one of the city's oldest, dating back to the later part of the 19th century.^[41] The neighborhood was home of the Renaissance Initiative Program created in 2000, which worked for the restoration and preservation of the neighborhood's historic assets.^[41][42][43] While the program officially disbanded in 2008, the West Downtown Neighborhood association continues these efforts. The Lincoln Park neighborhood is a locally designated historic district.^[44][45] Within the Lincoln Park neighborhood sits the 22-acre Lincoln Park, home of the also locally designed historic landmark the Lamon House.^[44] The Danville Neighborhood Leadership Council works to promote neighborhood associations, improve quality of life, and coordinate with City of Danville departments.^[40][46]

Danville is broadly divided into three districts. including the downtown district, the retail district, and the campus district.^[47][48][49] The downtown district consists of the historic core of the city, the retail district includes the northside retail corridor, and the campus district includes the Danville Area Community College (DACC) and VA campuses on the city's east side.

Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County.

Danville's main shopping center is the Village Mall, opened in 1975. Additional retail has spread north on Route 1 Vermilion Street since the early 90s, ranging from traditional big-box stores to retail infill and redevelopment of abandoned shopping centers. Retail in the community has increased after a large influx of redevelopment and green development, beginning in 2013 with the addition of Meijer and the Kohl's Plaza.

Portions of Danville are covered under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Program tax incentive program.^[59] Additionally, the City of Danville has created five Tax Increment Financing districts, including downtown, campus corridor, midtown, east Voorhees, and western gateway.^[60] Other available programs include a small business revolving loan fund and a downtown special service area (SSA).^[60][61][62] Economic development initiatives in the county, including in Danville, are covered by the organization Vermilion Advantage as well as Downtown Danville Inc, the City of Danville, and other partners.^[63][64]

The largest employment sectors in the Danville MSA are government (14.6%), employee of private company workers (67.6%), private not for profit (8.7%).

Following the legalization of Cannabis in Illinois, Danville's location near the Indiana state line made it an attractive location for a recreational cannabis dispensary (cannabis remains illegal in Indiana). Cresco Labs opened an adult-use dispensary under the Sunnyside brand in Danville in May 2020.^[65]

Outside of high school and Danville Area Community College sports, Danville is home to one sports team. The Danville Dans are a summer collegiate wooden-bat baseball team that play in Danville Stadium. They were founded in 1989 as a member of the Central Illinois Collegiate League, which later merged with the Prospect League. The team has won nine championships, all of them coming in the CICL.

The Danville Dashers of the Federal Prospects Hockey League played at the David S. Palmer Arena from 2011 to 2020 and were named after the original tenants, the Danville Dashers. In 2021, the arena voted to replace the Dashers with a new team in the Southern Professional Hockey League called the Vermilion County Bobcats.^[91] The Bobcats folded during the 2022–23 season.

The city of Danville maintains 20+ parks and recreation facilities, from small pocket parks to large regionally significant parklands.^[92] Danville's parks contribute to a county-wide collection that includes four county parks and three state parks.^[93] When combined with the city parkland, these total more than 15,000 acres, providing more acres of public park per capita than in any other county in Illinois.^[93]

Danville sits along the shore of Lake Vermilion, which is a 1,000-acre reservoir.^[94] The lake allows for fishing, bird watching, and unlimited-horsepower marine boating, jet-skiing, and waterskiing.^[95] Danville also sits along the Vermilion River, which provides recreational opportunities and supports abundant wildlife.^[96]

There are several notable parks within the city, including Lincoln Park, home of mature trees, tennis courts, and the Abraham Lincoln–associated Lamon House (a Greek Revival cottage built in 1850 by Joseph and Melissa Beckwith Lamon).^[97] On the west side of the city, the North Fork of the Vermilion River winds through Harrison Park Golf Course, providing a backdrop for the 235-acre golf course and hiking destination.^[98] On the north side, the Heron County Park Wetlands Boardwalk extends into Lake Vermilion and includes a 950-foot handicapped-accessible floating boardwalk that weaves through the marshland. The park also contains a 30-foot observation tower, which often provides views of bald eagles and American egrets.^[99] on the West end of town is Ellsworth Park home to disc golf, park equipment, shelters, and walking paths.

The downtown district contains five pocket parks, including Lindley Sign Forest and Temple Plaza. Temple Plaza hosts a number of community events throughout the year; including a summer concert series and a brick relief sculpture created by Texas-based artist Donna Dobberfuhl.^[100]

Additional recreational opportunities exist throughout the community, including Fetch Dog Park, the Danville Dans collegiate summer league baseball team, Garfield Park Aquatic Center, and many community sports leagues.^[93]

The city made national headlines with a Wall Street Journal article criticizing Danville and other municipalities nationwide for misappropriating COVID-19 funds. Out of the $26 million received from the federal government, Danville spent approximately half on a new water park.^[101]

The general aviation community is served by the Vermilion Regional Airport.

Danville is known as a major railroad intersection with at least four different tracks entering town from different directions, resulting in many crossings throughout the town. CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad all operate rail lines that pass through Danville.^[108]

Danville Mass Transit (DMT) operates 14 fixed route buses in Danville and surrounding areas.^[109]

• List of photographs of Abraham Lincoln