The Danville Historic District contains perhaps the finest and most concentrated collection of Victorian and Edwardian residential architecture in Virginia. Lining Main Street and adjacent side streets is a splendid assemblage of the full range of architectural styles from the Antebellum era to World War I, including Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, American Queen Anne and the Beaux Arts classicism of the early 20th century. The existence of these impressive dwellings--many constructed after the Civil War--is because of Danville's prosperity from the tobacco trade and other industries at a time when much of Virginia was suffering the effects brought on by the devastating Civil War and Reconstruction period. The leaders of the tobacco industry were among the first to erect handsome mansions along Main Street. The Penn-Wyatt House, constructed in 1876 by James Gabriel Penn at 862 Main Street, stands as visual evidence of the wealth and architectural taste afforded by the tobacco industry. The houses of the tobacco industrialists soon began to vie in splendor with those of the leaders of Danville's growing textile industry. In 1882, the three Schoolfield brothers along with Thomas Fitzgerald founded the textile mills that became known as Dan River, Inc., makers of world famous Dan River fabrics. The Schoolfields constructed several fine houses in the district, and 844 Main Street (the Schoolfield-Compson House) ranks among the finest High Victorian dwellings in the State.
Most of this post-Civil War residential growth took place on the hill to the south of the commercial district, in farm land that once was dominated by the Italian villa-style house of Major William T. Sutherlin. Long used as the public library and later as the Danville Chapter of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Sutherlin Mansion received fame in 1865 when it served as the last official residence of Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the fall of Richmond to the Union armies. Based on available historical research, two early 19th-century houses, located within the district at 770 Main Streets and 225 Jefferson Avenue, stand as the oldest houses in Danville. The Danville Historic District is roughly bounded by Main, Green and Paxton sts., and Memorial Hospital. The houses within the district are private, and not open to the public. 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. |
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