Danville

History

Within Kentucky, Danville is called the "City of Firsts": * It housed the first courthouse in Kentucky. * The first Kentucky constitution was written and signed here. The Virginia legislature officially established Danville on December 4, 1787. Transylvania University was founded in Danville in 1783. It moved to Lexington in 1789. Centre College was founded in 1819. Danville Theological Seminary was founded in 1853; in 1901 it became part of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The Caldwell Institute for Young Ladies was founded in 1860. It became Caldwell Female College in 1876, Caldwell College in 1904, Kentucky College for Women in 1913, and merged into Centre College in 1926. In November 1806, Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, visited Danville while traveling the Wilderness Road to Washington, D.C., to report on the expedition, which had returned from the Pacific Coast. In December 1806, William Clark visited his nephews in school in Danville before following Lewis to Washington. The first school in Danville for African-American children was founded around 1840 by Willis Russell, an emancipated slave of Robert Craddock, a Revolutionary War veteran. Craddock deeded a log house in Danville to Russell. He moved to the town after Craddock's death and started a school for children. The house on Walnut Street no longer stands, though what was once believed to be his house is now the Willis Russell Memorial Cabin. Russell's house stood across the street, opposite St. James African American Methodist Church. In 1842, Boyle County was formed from southern Mercer County and northern Lincoln County. Danville became its county seat. In 1860, a fire devastated the city, destroying 64 buildings and causing more than $300,000 in…

Geography

Danville is located in eastern Boyle County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.58%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,441
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,058
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,052
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,977
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,971
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,917
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,872
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,821

Largest nearby schools

• Boyle County High School
  High · Danville · 884 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Boyle County Middle School
  Middle · Danville · 679 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Woodlawn Elementary School
  Elementary · Danville · 660 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School
  Elementary · Danville · 519 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Danville High School
  High · Danville · 481 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Junction City Elementary School
  Elementary · Junction City · 420 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• John W. Bate Middle School
  Middle · Danville · 399 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Mary G. Hogsett Primary School
  Elementary · Danville · 367 students · 12.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.09 — 2025-12-28
  11 km ENE of Lancaster, Kentucky
• M 2.75 — 2025-05-11
  11 km SE of High Bridge, Kentucky
• M 2.63 — 2023-08-04
  11 km ENE of Lancaster, Kentucky
• M 2.64 — 2023-01-12
  4 km E of Burgin, Kentucky
• M 2.67 — 2019-10-12
  21 km ENE of Somerset, Kentucky
• M 2.59 — 2018-01-21
  8 km SSE of High Bridge, Kentucky