Danville, Illinois
City
Vermilion County Courthouse
Seal
Location of Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois.
Danville Show map of Illinois Danville Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°07′28″N 87°37′48″W / 40.12444°N 87.63000°W / 40.12444; -87.63000
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Vermilion
Township	Blount, Danville, Newell
Founded	April 10, 1827[1]
Government
• Mayor	Rickey Williams Jr.
Area [2]
• City	17.99 sq mi (46.59 km2)
• Land	17.86 sq mi (46.25 km2)
• Water	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2)
Elevation [3]	637 ft (194 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	29,204
• Density	1,635.53/sq mi (631.49/km2)
• Metro	81,625
ZIP code	61832 and 61834
Area codes	217, 447
FIPS code	17-18563
GNIS ID	2393715[3]
Website	CityOfDanville.org

Danville is a city in and the county seat of Vermilion County, Illinois, United States.^[4] As of the 2020 census, its population was 29,204. It is the principal city of the Danville metropolitan area.

History

The area that is now 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.^[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, now 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]

Geography

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. 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.

Climate

In recent years, average temperatures in Danville have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.99 inches (51 mm) inches in February to 4.70 inches (119 mm) inches in June.^[50]

Demographics

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

As of the census^[54] of 2000, there were 33,904 people, 13,327 households, and 8,156 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,994.0 inhabitants per square mile (769.9/km²). There were 14,886 housing units at an average density of 875.5 per square mile (338.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.19% White, 24.37% African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.09% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.57% of the population.

There were 13,327 households, out of which 28% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,431, and the median income for a family was $39,308. Males had a median income of $31,027 versus $22,303 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,476. 18.1% of the population and 13.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 26.8% were under the age of 18 and 10.5% were 65 or older.

In 2014, according to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, Danville was the cheapest place to live in the United States.^[55]

2019 estimates