Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, also known as the William T. Sutherlin Mansion and the Confederate Memorial, is a historic home and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

building located at

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

. It was built for Major William T. Sutherlin in 1857–1858, and is a two-story, five-bay,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ed building in the Italian Villa style. It features a one-story wooden porch, a shallow hipped roof surrounded by a heavy bracketed cornice and topped by a square cupola ornamented with pilasters and a bracketed cornice. While at the house, which served as his temporary residence from April 3 to April 10, 1865, on April 4, President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

signed his last official proclamation as President of the Confederate States of America. On April 10, Davis was at dinner at the house when he learned of the surrender at Appomattox. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1969. It is located in the Danville Historic District. The house is owned by the city and was used as the Danville Public Library from 1928 to 1972.

This mansion, after being sold to the city, became a “whites only” public library from 1928 to 1972. In the summer of 1960, Black students would decide that they wanted the library to be integrated, and staged a sit-in. To resist desegregation efforts, the library would be shut down, and would not open again until the fall of 1960. While the library now had to allow Black people into the library, it did not have to provide comfortable accommodations; and the library re-opened without chairs.

Museum

Established in 1974, the museum focuses on art, history, and culture in the Dan River region. Exhibits include the historic home itself with period furnishings, five art galleries, and a permanent Civil War exhibit.

References

External links

Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Italianate architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1858 Houses in Danville, Virginia Tourist attractions in Danville, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Danville, Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia Art museums and galleries in Virginia Education in Danville, Virginia 1858 establishments in Virginia Museums established in 1974 1974 establishments in Virginia {{DanvilleVA-NRHP-stub