On this site stood the residence of James E. Schoolfield. In the parlor of his house were held the meetings to organize both Dan River, Inc. on July 20, 1882 and the Young Women's Christian Association of Danville on December 19, 1904. — — Map (db m66042) HM
This house was built in 1891 as the home of Andrew Jackson “Jack” Montague, 1862-1937, Governor of Virginia, 1902-1906. During his residence in Danville, Mr. Montague established himself as a lawyer, U.S. District Attorney, orator, and . . . — — Map (db m14474) HM
Anne Eliza Johns, volunteer nurse, teacher, and author of Cooleemee: A Tale of Southern Life, was born in Pittsylvania, Co., VA. She ministered to Confederate soldiers and Union prisoners in the hospitals in Danville, VA during the War . . . — — Map (db m171831) HM
This bridge is dedicated in memory of Archer T. Gammon who distinguished himself on January 11, 1945, in the infamous Battle of the Bulge. While pinned down by enemy gunfire, he advanced and caused enemy resistance to weaken, allowing his platoon to . . . — — Map (db m66254) HM WM
The Virginia General Assembly chartered Union Female College, forerunner of Averett University, in 1859. Supported by the Concord, Dan River, and Roanoke Baptist Associations, the school offered preparatory and collegiate instruction to young women. . . . — — Map (db m171815) HM
In the spring of 1963 local African American ministers and other leaders organized the Danville Movement to combat widespread racial segregation and discrimination. On 10 June, two demonstrations occurred. Police clubbed and fire-hosed the marchers, . . . — — Map (db m66038) HM
Caswell County, North Carolina, was established in 1777 and named for Richard Caswell, the state's first governor. It is located on the northern border of North Carolina adjoining Danville, Virginia.
Attractions
Caswell County Civic . . . — — Map (db m171900) HM
This bell was rung to summon the tobacco growers, company buyers and the warehousemen for the start of a tobacco auction sale. Prior to this time, a bugle announced the sale. The last location of this bell was in Central Warehouse on Union Street in . . . — — Map (db m171814) HM
Constructed in 1855 as a tobacco factory by Major William T. Sutherlin, this renovated structure housed Union prisoners during the Civil War, 1861-1865. It was one of six Danville Confederate prisons in which as many as 7000 Union soldiers were . . . — — Map (db m66006) HM
1. Averett University
420 West Main Street,was founded in 1859 as a school for young women. Averett grew to a fully accredited, co-educational, four year college in 1971. The Schoolfield House Booksellers at AU, 354 West Main Street, is . . . — — Map (db m171832) HM
The remains of 1,323 Federal soldiers, 148 of them unknown, who died in Danville’s Civil War prisons are interred here. Many died from smallpox which ravaged the six prisons during the winter of 1863-1864.
The names of the dead were recorded . . . — — Map (db m66010) HM
Danville, Virginia
1878
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Confederate dead memorial tribute of Virginia's daughters to the fallen brave.
Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
They died as men who nobly contend for the cause of truth and right. "They softly and . . . — — Map (db m66066) WM
Danville residents, feeling vulnerable to enemy attack because of the vast amount of commissary and quartermaster supplies stored in their town and the presence of the Confederate arsenal, petitioned the town council in February 1863 to build . . . — — Map (db m66004) HM
Danville Southern
Railway Passenger Depot
has been registered as a
Virginia
Historic
Landmark
pursuant to the authority vested in the
Virginia Board of Historic Resources
Danville Rail
Passenger Station
has been . . . — — Map (db m171920) HM
On this site stood Neal's Warehouse where the "Danville System" of selling tobacco began in 1858. Previously tobacco had been sold by sample from hogsheads, but under the new system it was sold at auction in open, loose piles so buyers could examine . . . — — Map (db m66037) HM
This area formed the economic core of 19th-century Danville. Founded in 1793 at Wynne’s Falls on the Dan River to facilitate tobacco inspection, Danville became a regional center of activity because of the river and later the railroad. Situated in . . . — — Map (db m66034) HM
In 1886, Danville's first trolleys used mule power to pull them from the train station on Craghead Street to the intersection of South Main and West Main streets. After two years, electrically operated vehicles replaced this primitive public . . . — — Map (db m171810) HM
In 1766 John Dix established his ferry approximately three miles south of here on the Dan River. During the American Revolution, in February 1781, the ferry was a strategic site in Gen. Nathanael Greene's “race to the Dan,” the pursuit . . . — — Map (db m108313) HM
First State Bank, one of the few banks in Virginia owned by African Americans, opened on 8 Sept. 1919 as the Savings Bank of Danville. By issuing loans to individuals, businesses, and churches, the bank fostered the black community's vitality during . . . — — Map (db m171809) HM
In this building, on January 30, 1897, the composer Frederick Delius (1862-1934) and his traveling companions - Halfdan Jebe and the "stowaway" Princess de Cysteria - gave a public concert at the Danville College for Young Ladies, later Stratford . . . — — Map (db m66050) HM
One block west on Church Street is the site of the Henry P. Richardson house where Frederick Delius lived while teaching music at Roanoke Female College, now Averett. An unsuccessful orange grower in Florida, the Britisher Delius worked in Danville . . . — — Map (db m104474) HM
Halifax County, east of Danville, was established in 1752. It has a strong agricultural tobacco heritage. Today, visitors will will discover more: scenic, vineyards and wineries, historic sites and parks, equestrian centers, fine dining arts and . . . — — Map (db m171886) HM
Harry Wooding
Mayor of Danville
August 15, 1892
November 16, 1938
Born: April 27, 1844
Died: November 16, 1838
A Soldier of the Confederacy
1861 - 1865
Served one year in Company B (Danville Grays), . . . — — Map (db m171917) HM WM
In 1865 emancipated African Americans withdrew
from First Baptist Church, where they had
worshiped from the balcony, and founded a
congregation later known as High Street Baptist
Church. Members erected their first sanctuary
here in 1873. Fire . . . — — Map (db m104466) HM
The Holbrook-Ross Historic District, named for two major streets, is significant as the first neighborhood in Danville for African American professionals. Lawyers, ministers, dentists and physicians, as well as, business owners, insurance agents, . . . — — Map (db m66044) HM
The "HOME" sign is part of the iconic, red neon "Home of the River Fabrics" sign that was located on top of Danville's historic White Mill (No. 8) Mill is the only surviving building of the Riverside Division of Dan River Inc. . . . — — Map (db m171811) HM
In this house Nancy Witcher Langhorne was born 19 May 1879. As Lady Astor she became the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, serving from 1919 to 1945. Through the Langhorne family, her roots in Virginia run deep into the Seventeenth . . . — — Map (db m66047) HM
This, the former home of Major W.T. Sutherlin, is regarded as the last capitol of the Confederacy, April 3-10, 1865. Here President Davis stayed and here was held the last full cabinet meeting, Breckinridge alone being absent. The establishment of . . . — — Map (db m66012) HM
The Loyal Street Baptist Church congregation, which was organized between 1865 and 1866 on Old Hospital-Dance Hill by former slaves, built its church here in 1870. Worship continued at this site until 1924 when the congregation moved to Holbrook . . . — — Map (db m66036) HM
This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
circa 1865
Main Street Methodist
Episcopal Church
has been registered as a
Virginia . . . — — Map (db m171913) HM
[Unfortunately, the marker is heavily unreadable.]
These houses were rented to mill workers for nominal amounts. Records show that in 1933, 100 houses with a total of 588 rooms were rented to 330 workers. This rent comes to 56 cents per . . . — — Map (db m171805) HM
North Danville was established in 1877 as a distinct town across the Dan River from Danville proper. Its first mayor, John T. Keen, was appointed on July 13, 1880. For a brief period in the 1890s, the town went by the name Neapoils before being . . . — — Map (db m104478) HM
The Town of Chatham has served as the seat of Pittsylvania County government since 1777. It is rich in history with architecturally significant pre-Revolution, Federal, Victorian and post-Victorian houses. Brochures for self-guided walking . . . — — Map (db m171909) HM
Built for use as a tobacco factory and leased to the Confederate government, this building housed many Federal soldiers captured in the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg in July 1864.
It was one of six buildings used in tobacco . . . — — Map (db m66005) HM
When Confederate President Jefferson Davis was informed April 2, 1865, that Petersburg had fallen and Federal armies were approaching, he used the Richmond & Danville Railroad to evacuate his government to Danville.
Ten days later, after . . . — — Map (db m66007) HM
At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Richmond & Danville Railroad was already part of a rail network that would sustain the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The Richmond & Danville extension to Greensboro, North Carolina, known as the . . . — — Map (db m66008) HM
By the outbreak of the Civil War, the Virginia General Assembly had chartered only eight railroads totaling 638 miles. The North, in contrast, had developed an immense network of railroads and canals. This transportation network reached into the . . . — — Map (db m66009) HM
Born in Sutherlin, Rockabilly pioneer Janis
Martin combined country influences with rhythm-and-blues singing, crossing musical boundaries
and helping launch Rock and Roll. Singing and
playing guitar, she won numerous talent contests
before she . . . — — Map (db m104501) HM
On 12-15 October 1728, Col. William Byrd II and his party camped just west of here while surveying the Virginia-North Carolina boundary. Bearskin, Byrd's Saponi guide, described his tribe's religious beliefs, which, wrote Byrd in his diary, . . . — — Map (db m66052) HM
Schoolfield, established in 1903 as a textile mill village, was named for three brothers who founded Riverside Cotton Mills, later Dan River Mills. By the 1920s, this company town—complete with a school, churches, stores, a theatre, and other . . . — — Map (db m66051) HM
Stratford College (1930-1974) and its constituent preparatory school, Stratford Hall (1930-1964), maintained the tradition of liberal arts education for women begun in 1854 at the Danville Female College. Main hall was built in 1883 to house the . . . — — Map (db m66049) HM
This Italian villa mansion was the home of Maj. William T. Sutherlin, wartime quartermaster for Danville and one of its most prominent citizens. For one week, April 3-10, 1865, Sutherlin and his wife opened their home to Jefferson Davis and the . . . — — Map (db m66011) HM
Complex geometry of the Queen Anne style characterizes this once-suburban house built on the Old Greensboro Road for Andrew Jackson Montague.
Born near Lynchburg with family roots deep in Tidewater, Montague launched his career as a Danville . . . — — Map (db m171817) HM
This vernacular Italianate-style dwelling hugs Chestnut Street at Green on a lot acquired for twelve-year-old Harry S. Fox by his parents, Morris J. and Jane Seaman Fox.
In the 1890's John A. Hawkins and his wife, Ann Dickens, began their . . . — — Map (db m171912) HM
The Gibson Girl. Here stood the residence in which Irene Langhorne Gibson, 1873-1956 was born. Built in 1874, the house was moved in 1921 from its original Main Street corner to 117 Broad Street. Irene's beauty, charm, and vivacity captivated . . . — — Map (db m66045) HM
A circular pavilion distinguishes the front porch added early in the 20th century which dominates this comfortable 1870s Italianate dwelling with a bracketed cornice and shouldered window surrounds.
Presumably the first residence on the block, . . . — — Map (db m171907) HM
This late Victorian dwelling, displaying Tuscan porch columns and other Colonial Revival details was constructed in the asymmetrical Queen Anne style for John and Florence Jefferies Lee and their children.
A principal in the lumber firm of . . . — — Map (db m171906) HM
Built for John T. Watson, Jr., and his wife Mary Green, this two-story brick house combines Queen Anne details, such as a prominent shingled gable, with Greek Ionic columns, large windows, some with ornamental leaded and stained glass typical of . . . — — Map (db m171904) HM
In tribute to the lives and accomplishments of Irene Langhorne Gibson (1873-1956, "The Gibson Girl") and Nancy Langhorne Astor (1879-1964, "Lady Astor"), and their families, is dedicated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. — — Map (db m171828) HM
"The Last Proclamation"
… The memories of the heroic dead who have freely given their lives to its defense must ever remain enshrined in our hearts…
President Jefferson Davis
C.S.A.
April 4, 1865
"Guarding our future by preserving . . . — — Map (db m171903) HM WM
Corona Post Imperium
[After Molding Government]
The
Last Capitol
of the
Confederacy
April 3rd - 10th, 1865
"If I Forget Thee, O . . . — — Map (db m171902) HM
The Worsham Street Bridge was built in 1928 by the Atlantic Bridge Company of Greensboro, North Carolina. Replacing a smaller iron-and-wood bridge from the early 1900s, it was an open-spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge and one of the longest . . . — — Map (db m66041) HM
This mural, the work of Alabamian Wes Hardin, depicts the express mail train Number 97, pulled by Engine 1102, crossing the trestle above Stillhouse Branch in North Danville. On September 27, 1903, leaving Washington one hour late, bound for . . . — — Map (db m171806) HM
This trough was used to water mules and horses that pulled the wagon loads of tobacco from the farm to the warehouse at the turn of the century. — — Map (db m171813) HM
This mural, created by noted artist West Hardin, recalls a time when growers from throughout the Piedmont would bring their flue-cured, "bright leaf" tobacco to Danville to be sold, first by bateaux, using the Dan River canal system, then by rail . . . — — Map (db m171919) HM
The American Legion, Dan River Post 1097 in cooperation with the City of Danville, VA, have displayed this WWII gun here to honor all veterans of all wars and conflicts, who answered their country's call to duty and paid the Supreme Sacrifice in . . . — — Map (db m171820) WM
These trees are dedicated to the men who lost their lives in World War I
Lt. Gail Hamilton Alexander •
J. Campbell Berkeley •
Edward Batteu •
Matthew Chatten •
Robert L. Clark •
Andrew J. Collins •
Lossie F. Elliott •
Ira N. . . . — — Map (db m171827) WM
Here, on September 27, 1908, occurred the railroad wreck that inspired the popular ballad, "The Wreck of the Old 97". The southbound mail express train on the Southern Railroad left the tracks on a trestle and plunged into the ravine below. Nine . . . — — Map (db m63397) HM
Pittsylvania County. Area 1,015 square miles. Formed in 1766 from Halifax and named for William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, British statesman. This is the largest county in Virginia. The home of Claude A. Swanson, Governor of . . . — — Map (db m171803) HM
Robert S. Hamlett •
Paul Thacker •
C.W. Gibson •
Daniel Elliott •
Luke Elliott •
George Brown •
Elwood D. Reynolds •
Elisha Abbott •
William A.J. Brown •
Wilson J. Wells •
Paul M. Goolsby •
Loyd Brumfield •
Jesse Mills, . . . — — Map (db m171921) WM
