Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the

Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area The Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Boyle and Lincoln counties in Kentucky, anchored by the city of Danville. As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a population of 51 ...

, which includes all of the Boyle and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

counties. In 2001, Danville received a Great American Main Street Award from the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

. In 2011, ''Money'' magazine placed Danville as the fourth-best place to retire in the United States. Centre College in Danville was selected to host U.S. vice-presidential debates in 2000 and 2012.

History

Within Kentucky, Danville is called the "City of Firsts": * It housed the first

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

in Kentucky. * The first Kentucky constitution was written and signed here. * It was the first capital of Kentucky. * It had the first U.S.

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. * It hosts the first state-supported

school for the deaf The first school for the deaf was established in France during the 18th century, in 1771 by Charles-Michel de l'Épée. L'Épée was the leader in establishing sign language for the deaf and is notable as the "father" of deaf education. He founded ...

. *

Ephraim McDowell Ephraim McDowell (November 11, 1771 – June 25, 1830) was an American physician and pioneer surgeon. The first person to successfully remove an ovarian tumor, he has been called "the father of ovariotomy" as well as founding father of abdomina ...

completed the first known successful

laparotomy A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as a celiotomy. Origins and history The first successful laparotomy was performed without ane ...

here in 1809, removing an

ovarian tumor Ovarian tumors, or ovarian neoplasms, are tumors arising from the ovary. They can be benign or malignant (ovarian cancer). They consist of mainly solid tissue, while ovarian cysts contain fluid. Histopathologic classification Ovarian tumors are ...

from a woman patient without anesthesia. * It is the home of

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

, housing the oldest college administration building and campus west of the Allegheny Mountains. Boyle county courthouse

Danville was part of the Great Settlement Area around Fort Harrod (present-day

Harrodsburg Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

), which was first settled in 1774. The site was originally known as Crow's Station for settler John Crow, but the town was surveyed and platted by Walker Daniel, Kentucky's first district attorney, who bought near the Wilderness Road from Crow in 1783. The city was named for Daniel. The

Virginia legislature The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1619 ...

officially established Danville on December 4, 1787. Between 1784 and 1792, ten conventions were held in Danville to petition for better governance and ultimately to secure independence from Virginia. In 1786 the Danville Political Club was organized. It met each Saturday night at Grayson'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.

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

was founded in Danville in 1783. It moved to Lexington in 1789.

was founded in 1819. Danville Theological Seminary was founded in 1853; in 1901 it became part of the

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, currently branded as Louisville Seminary, is a seminary affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of ten official PC (USA) seminaries, though it current ...

. The Caldwell Institute for Young Ladies was founded in 1860. It became Caldwell Female College in 1876, Caldwell College in 1904, Kentucky College for Women in 1913, and merged into Centre College in 1926. In November 1806, Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

, visited Danville while traveling the Wilderness Road to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to report on the expedition, which had returned from the Pacific Coast. In December 1806,

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

visited his nephews in school in Danville before following Lewis to Washington. 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 southern Mercer County and northern Lincoln County. Danville became its county seat. In 1850, Danville and Boyle County backed construction of the

Lexington and Danville Railroad Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the old ...

. Money ran out when the railroad reached Nicholasville.

John A. Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

had already built towers for a railroad suspension bridge over the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its tri ...

. (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.Fackler, Calvin M., ''Early Days in Danville'', Louisville: Standard Printing Co., 1941 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. After the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

won the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...

in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

on October 8, 1862, it appropriated many Danville buildings, including the courthouse, for use as hospitals. On October 11, a Union force drove

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces from the county fairgrounds through Danville. In May 1864, the group of 250 – mostly enslaved males but including some

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

– marched from Danville to nearby Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, where

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Andrew Clark allowed them to enlist In the

after some initial hesitation. Arriving with wounds inflicted upon them in route, this group was the first to enlist at this site, where 10,000

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

trained. In 1775, Archibald McNeill planted Kentucky'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 imported

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

. 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 now

Constitution Square Historic Site Constitution Square Historic Site is a park and open-air museum in Danville, Kentucky. From 1937 to 2012, it was a part of the Kentucky state park system and operated by the Kentucky Department of Parks. When dedicated in 1942, it was known as J ...

. The city demolished this business sector under

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

in the 1970s to provide for the expansion of Constitution Square Park. On October 5, 2000,

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

and Senator

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...

, candidates for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

, debated at Centre College during the 2000 presidential election. On October 11, 2012, Centre College again hosted the Vice-Presidential debate, this time between Vice President Joe Biden and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Paul Ryan.

Geography

Danville is located in eastern Boyle County at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.58%, is water. Danville, KY Water Tower, Feb 2014

Transportation

;Bus Blue Grass Community Action Partnership provides DanTran bus service inside Danville. BGCAP also connects Danville with Lexington, Stanford, Junction City, and Lancaster. ;Road * US 127

U.S. Route 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...

bisects Danville northwest (

) to south (

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

). *

U.S. Route 150 bisects Danville west ( Perryville, Springfield) to southeast ( Stanford). * US 127

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. * US 150

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. * Elongated circle 33

Kentucky Route 33 Kentucky Route 33 (KY 33) is a , two-lane, north–south state highway in Kentucky managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. KY 33 begins at US 150 in Danville and proceeds north through Boyle, Mercer, Jessamine, and Woodford count ...

enters Danville from north ( Burgin,

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

). *

Kentucky Route 34 Kentucky Route 34 (KY 34) is a , east–west, 2-lane, state highway in Kentucky managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. KY 34 begins at US 68 and KY 52 near Mitchellsburg and goes through Boyle and Garrard counties before terminati ...

connects Danville northeast to U.S. Route 27 and on to Lexington. * Elongated circle 37

Kentucky Route 37 Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

connects Danville west to

Kentucky Route 243 Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

near Penn's Store. * Elongated circle 52

Kentucky Route 52 Kentucky Route 52 (KY 52) is a long east–west state highway in Kentucky, United States, managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Its western terminus is at US 62 near Boston, Kentucky. It goes through Nelson, LaRue, Marion, Boyle, ...

connects Danville east to Lancaster. * Elongated circle 2168

Kentucky Route 2168 Kentucky Route 2168 (KY 2168) is a state highway in Boyle County, Kentucky. It is mainly used as a connector between U.S. Route 127 (US 127), KY 33, and KY 34. The first roundabout A roundabout is a type o ...

connects U.S. Route 127 with Kentucky Route 34 north of Danville. ;Air

Stuart Powell Field Stuart Powell Field is a public-use airport located south of the central business district of Danville, a city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is owned by the City of Danville and Boyle County. Although most U.S. airports use th ...

(DVK), from downtown, serves as Danville's general aviation airport.

Blue Grass Airport Blue Grass Airport is a public airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, United States, 6 miles west of downtown Lexington. Located among horse farms and situated directly across from Keeneland Race Course, Blue Grass Airport is the primary airport ...

(LEX) in Lexington, away, provides the closest commercial service. More extensive commercial service is available from

Louisville International Airport Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport , formerly known as simply Louisville International Airport, is a civil-military airport in Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The airport covers and has three runways. Its IATA airport cod ...

(SDF), away, and

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. It serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time o ...

(CVG), away. ;Rail Norfolk Southern Railway operates a freight rail yard in Danville. Its Louisville-Chattanooga line intersects with its Cincinnati-Chattanooga line just north of Danville.

Climate

Danville has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa''), with warm summers and moderately cold winters. Precipitation is abundant and well-spread, with an average of .

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 16,218 people, 6,405 households, and 3,903 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 7,180 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 10.9%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.0%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.8% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, 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% were married 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 was

US $ The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

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. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $18,906. About 9.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

FBI crime statistics for 2009 list the crime rate (per 100,000 population) for Danville as follows:

Education

;Public schools

Danville Schools Danville Schools is a school district located in Danville, Kentucky. The district includes most of the boundaries of the city of Danville, about in size. It comprises a primary school, intermediate school, one middle school, and one high schoo ...

includes most of the city limits. It operates Mary G. Hogsett Primary School, Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School, John W. Bate Middle School, and Danville 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, and

Boyle County High School Boyle County High School is a public high school located in Danville, Kentucky, United States. It serves nearly 900 students in grades 9–12. The school opened to students in the 1963–1964 school year. The school was created to merge the area's ...

for portions of Danville and the remainder of Boyle County.

Kentucky School for the Deaf The Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), located in Danville, Kentucky, United States, is a school that provides education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school levels. Founded in 1823, it was the first school ...

provides education to Kentucky's deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school. A portion of Danville is in the Boyle County Schools district. ;Private schools Two private schools operate in Danville: *Danville Christian Academy *Danville Montessori School ;Colleges and universities

, a nationally recognized

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

college, is located in Danville. Danville also hosts a campus of

Bluegrass Community and Technical College Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) is a public community college in Lexington, Kentucky. It is one of sixteen two-year, open admission colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It was formed from th ...

;Public library Danville has a lending library, the Boyle County Public Library.

Culture

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).

Places of interest

* Art Center of the Bluegrass is an historic Beaux Arts building, formerly the Federal Building, that is a hub for local artist activity. *

is a top liberal arts college; it hosted the 2000 and 2012 Vice Presidential debates. * Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge is a nature preserve. *

Confederate Monument In the United States, the public display of Confederate monuments, memorials and symbols has been and continues to be controversial. The following is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials that were established as public displays and symb ...

was an early 20th-century statue dedicated to Kentucky's Civil War veterans, which has now been moved to Meade County. * Constitution Square is a park containing restored and recreated frontier buildings; the first Kentucky constitution was written and signed here. In February 2013, the

Kentucky Historical Society The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) was originally established in 1836 as a private organization. It is an agency of the Kentucky state government that records and preserves important historical documents, buildings, and artifacts of Kentucky's ...

erected a

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

in the square to commemorate the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s who enlisted in the

during the

. * Crow-Barbee House is the oldest stone structure west of the Allegheny Mountains. * Danville National Cemetery contains

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

soldiers who died during the

. A Confederate cemetery adjoins it inside Bellevue Cemetery. * Ephraim McDowell House Museum is the house where Ephraim McDowell performed his groundbreaking ovariotomy. * Great American Dollhouse Museum is a social history museum in miniature. * Jones Visual Arts Center is a gallery and primary studio for internationally known glass artist

Stephen Rolfe Powell Stephen "Steve" Rolfe Powell (1951–2019) was an American glass artist based at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, who created elaborately colored three-foot glass vessels incorporating murrine. Early life and education Powell was born ...

. * Millennium Park is a 126-acre park containing walking trails, baseball fields, soccer fields, softball fields, basketball courts, playgrounds, a skateboard park, a dog park, and covered shelters. *

Perryville Battlefield Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a park near Perryville in Boyle County, Kentucky. The park continues to expand with purchases of parcels by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and th ...

is a park that preserves a significant battlefield of the Civil War. *

Warrenwood Manor Warrenwood Manor is a historic property located in Danville, Kentucky, USA. The manor was built in 1856 by Samuel and John Fourche Warren, sons of the Revolutionary War veteran and legislator William Warren. The Warren family moved several times ...

is a historic property built in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. * Wilderness Trail Distillery produces bourbon, rye, rum, and vodka from locally grown grains.

Theater

Five venues for theatrical productions live in Danville. * The Norton Center for the Arts is a state-of-the-art host for performing and visual arts events throughout the year. *

Pioneer Playhouse The Pioneer Playhouse, located in Danville, Kentucky, is the oldest outdoor theater in the state of Kentucky. History The Pioneer Playhouse was built by Col. Eben C. Henson who established the outdoor theater in 1950. Notable alumni actors includ ...

is the oldest outdoor theater in Kentucky, and the first theater officially designated as Kentucky's state theater. It features summer-stock productions using local and nationally known artists. * West T. Hill Community Theatre is a community theater with an acclaimed company of actors. * Gravely Hall Performing Arts Center is located in Danville High School and is home to the performing arts in the Danville Schools system. * Boyle County Performing Arts Center is located in Boyle County Middle School and is home to the performing arts in the Boyle County Schools system.

Annual events

* The

Great American Brass Band Festival The Great American Brass Band Festival is a music festival held each June in Danville, Kentucky since 1990. The open-air festival features a wide variety of brass bands, a hot air balloon race, a picnic, and other activities. Each year up to 40,000 ...

(June) is a free, three-day outdoor festival that features performances from brass bands from throughout the country. Other events have joined the festival like picnics, wine festivals, bourbon tastings, and the Great American Balloon Race. * The Boyle County Fair (June) is a county fair. * Kentucky's

Governor's School for the Arts The Governor's School for the Arts is a regional secondary arts school sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the public school divisions of Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, ...

(July) at Centre College provides an educational springboard for young artists from around the state. * The Kentucky State BBQ Festival (September) provides good music and good food from some of the country's best BBQ pitmasters. * Harvest Fest (September) closes Main Street for a celebration. * The Forkland Heritage Festival (October) celebrates the culture of an historic community. * Perryville Battle Reenactment (October) is an authentic reliving of one of Kentucky's most significant

battles. * Bourbon Chase (October) is a 200-mile relay footrace through central Kentucky. Danville is a major exchange point.

Media and books

The Advocate-Messenger ''The Advocate-Messenger'' is a newspaper published Tuesday and Friday in Danville, Kentucky. The printed version of the newspaper is delivered by US mail. The newspaper serves central Kentucky, with distribution primarily in Boyle, Lincoln, Ca ...

'', a twice-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) newspaper, serves Danville and surrounding counties. Local radio stations include three AM stations: WDFB-AM (1170),

WHBN WHBN (1420 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, United States, it is currently owned by Hometown Broadcasting of Harrodsburg Inc and carriess programming from AP Radio and Jones Radio Netw ...

(1420),

WHIR WHIR (1230 AM) is a radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio wav ...

(1230), and three FM stations: WDFB-FM (88.1), WLAI(107.1), and

WRNZ WRNZ (105.1 FM, "Z105") is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Lancaster, Kentucky Lancaster is a home rule-class city in Garrard County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As o ...

(105.1).

WDKY-TV WDKY-TV (channel 56) is a television station licensed to Danville, Kentucky, United States, serving the Lexington area as an affiliate of the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and maintains studios on Euclid Avenue in Le ...

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 Martha S. Jones is an American historian and legal scholar. She is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University. She studies the legal and cultural history of the United States, with ...

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 the

for the

, Sam became emancipated upon his 1864 enlistment in the 114th

at nearby Camp Nelson. After the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Sam voted in the 1870 election. Their daughter, Frances Harriet Williams, organized for the NAACP, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and served as a presidential advisor.

Films shot in Danville

* '' Raintree County'' (1957) is a big-budget, epic film set during the Civil War. A short film, ''Operation Raintree'', was shot to promote ''Raintree County''. * '' Treasure of Matecumbe'' (1976) is a

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

family adventure film. * '' Child of Glass'' (1978) is a made-for-TV movie distributed by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

. * '' Lawn Dogs'' (1997) is a drama film released by

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...

*
Summerstock
' (2002), by

Robby Henson Robby Henson is an American director and screenwriter. Biography Robby Henson began his directing career at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Henson is now a skilled film and documentary maker. He writes and directs all his films, ...

, chronicled a year in the busy, eccentric life of Pioneer Playhouse.

Sister cities

Danville has one sister city, as designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establish ...

: * Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland Danville Sister Cities won the 2019 Innovation Award for Arts and Culture from Sister Cities International.

Notable people

The following are highly noted people from Danville. For a more complete list see

List of people from Danville, Kentucky These noted people were born, raised or lived for a significant period of time in the city of Danville, Kentucky. See also * List of people from Kentucky References {{reflist Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boy ...

. * James G. Birney Abolitionist * John Boyle (1774–1834),

U.S. federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

; Boyle County, Kentucky, was named after him *

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

(1821–1875), U.S. Representative and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from Kentucky, U.S. Vice President, U.S. presidential candidate,

Confederate States Secretary of War The Confederate States Secretary of War was a member of President Jefferson Davis's Cabinet during the American Civil War. The Secretary of War was head of the Confederate States Department of War. The position ended in May 1865 when the Confede ...

Neal Brown Neal Brown (born March 11, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at West Virginia University. Brown was previously the head coach at Troy University from 2015 to 2018. Brown also previousl ...

, college football coach *

Jacqueline Coleman Jacqueline Coleman (born June 9, 1982) is an American educator and politician serving as the 58th lieutenant governor of Kentucky since 2019. She has worked as an administrator, high school teacher, and high school basketball coach. Coleman is a ...

, educator and

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garrard ...

* Speed S.Fry (1817-1892) lawyer, judge, officer United States Army during the American-Mexican War and Civil War *

Jordan Gay Jordan Lane Gay (born March 29, 1990) is a former American football kickoff specialist. He has also been a punter and a kicker. Gay signed with the Carolina Panthers after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

player *

John Marshall Harlan John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. He is often called "The Great Dissenter" due to his ...

(1833–1911),

U.S. Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

; "The Great Dissenter" *

Larnelle Harris Larnelle Steward Harris (born July 6, 1947) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. During his 40-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 11 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the ...

(1947-), Grammy and Dove Award-winning gospel singer and songwriter *

, screenwriter and director *

(1771–1830), physician, first to successfully remove an ovarian tumor *

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo ca ...

, country singer *

Theodore O'Hara Theodore O'Hara (February 11, 1820 – June 6, 1867) was a poet and an officer for the United States Army in the Mexican–American War, and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War. He is best known for the poems "Bivouac of the Dead", ...

(1820–1867), poet and soldier * Hugh L. Scott (1853–1934), Superintendent of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, U.S. Army Chief of Staff in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was the first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic an ...

(1750–1826), first and fifth

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...

, soldier in

Lord Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. H ...

, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

* Frank X Walker (1961-), Kentucky's first African-American Poet Laureate

Major employers

Major employers include: * AdMart (Custom-made signs) *

(Newspaper publishing and printing) * The Allen Company (Mixed asphalt) *

American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electr ...

(Distribution and packaging) *

Berry Plastics Berry Global, Inc is a Fortune 500 global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, it has over 265+ facilities across the globe and more than 46,000+ employees, With $13 billion in revenues in ...

(Plastics) * Burkmann Feeds (Feed manufacturing) *

Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. (stock symbol CAT) is an American ''Fortune'' 500 corporation and the world's largest construction-equipment manufacturer. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 65 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list and number 238 on the Global ''Fo ...

(Tractor parts) *

(Education) *

Dana Holding Corporation Dana Incorporated is an American supplier of axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing, and digital equipment for conventional, hybrid, and electric-powered vehicles. The company's products and services are aimed ...

(Engine gaskets) * Denyo Co. (Generators) * Elmwood Inn (Teas) * Ephraim McDowell Health (Health care) * Farmers National Bank (Banking services) *

Hobart Corporation The Hobart Corporation is an American mid-market provider of commercial grocery and foodservice equipment. The company manufactures food preparation machines for cutting, slicing and mixing, cooking equipment, refrigeration units, warewashing ...

(Commercial dishwashers) *

Intelligrated Intelligrated, Inc. (a portmanteau of ''intelligent'' and ''integrated'') was a material handling automation and software engineering company based in Mason, Ohio. In 2016, it was acquired by Honeywell, who made it a subsidiary and renamed it to ...

(Conveyor equipment) *

LSC Communications LSC Communications is an American commercial printing company based in Chicago, Illinois, and, as of December 2020, a fully-owned subsidiary of Atlas Holdings. The company was established in 2016 as part of a corporate spin-off from RR Donnelley ...

(Offset printing) *

Meggitt Parker Meggitt (formerly Meggitt plc) is a British international company specialising in components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the ...

(Aircraft braking systems) * National Office Furniture (Furniture) * Pioneer Vocational Industrial Services (Sheltered workshop) * Pitman Creek Wholesale (Fishing equipment wholesaler) * Self Refind (Drug treatment clinics) * Sellers Manufacturing (Industrial boilers) *

The Timberland Company Timberland LLC is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoor footwear, owned by VF Corporation and founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1952. The company also sells apparel and accessories including watches, eyewear, and leather goods. Tim ...

(Distribution center) * TransNav (Plastic Injection) * Wausau Paper (Distribution Center)

References

External links

City of Danville official website

Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Danville, Boyle County Chamber of Commerce

Danville/Boyle County Economic Development Partnership

Downtown Danville: The Heart of Danville Main Street Program
{{Authority control Cities in Boyle County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States County seats in Kentucky Danville, Kentucky micropolitan area 1787 establishments in Virginia