Tobacco shaped Danville's economic life Photo courtesy of Virginia Main Street Program

Occupying some 40 blocks of the heart of the city, this historic district formed the economic wellspring of 19th-century Danville. The various warehouses, factories, shops and dwellings display the city's mill-town personality and the rise of its working class. Industrial activity in Danville grew in conjunction with the development of its transportation systems and with the cultivation of bright-leaf tobacco, which shaped Danville into one of the South's primary tobacco markets. The tobacco industry achieved its greatest growth in the 1870s and 1880s with the emergence of plug and twist tobacco manufacture. Today the district is composed of approximately 585 buildings related to the development of Danville's tobacco enterprise. Some 37 of the buildings are factories, auction warehouses or storage facilities, all constructed between 1870 and 1910. The residential area contains approximately 450 workers' dwellings erected between 1880 and the 1930s.

The Danville Tobacco Warehouse and Residential Historic District is roughly bounded by the south bank of the Dan River, the track of the Southern Railroad, and Jefferson St., Wilson St., Monument Crt. and Patton St. Brochures providing further information about Danville's historic districts are available at the Danville Welcome Center, located at 645 Riverpark Dr., or by calling the center at 434-793-4636. Danville's Tobacco District has also been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record.

Main Street Home | List of Sites | Map| Learn More | Itineraries | NR Home | Next Site
Essays: Virginia Main Street | Agriculture and Industry| Commercial Architecture in Virginia| Transportation

Comments or Questions

JPJ/RQ/SB