The area that became Danville was once home to the
Miami,
Kickapoo, and
Potawatomi tribes of Native Americans. Danville was founded in 1827 on of land donated by Guy W. Smith and donated by Dan W. Beckwith. The sale of lots was set for April 10, 1827, and advertised in newspapers in
Indianapolis, Indiana and the state capital of
Vandalia. In 1838 the
Potawatomi Trail of Death camped and then passed through Danville. Four Potawatomi people died and were buried in Danville. In the mid-1800s
Abraham Lincoln visited Danville over the course of approximately 18 years as he practiced law across the 8th Judicial Circuit. Danville was home to
Ward Hill Lamon his law partner who later served as his bodyguard. Lincoln later gave a speech in his stocking feet from the balcony of Dr. William Fithian, a prominent Danville physician.
The Fithian home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Vermilion County Museum. In 1882, a small group of Franciscan Sisters formed St. Elizabeth Hospital out of a 14-room hotel. In 1883 a horsecar based streetcar was established. In 1884 an opera house was constructed. In 1891 the streetcar system was converted to electric streetcars. This interurban streetcar network was substantial in communities south of Danville within the county, such as Catlin, Westville, Georgetown, and Ridgefarm. The coal formation underlying eastern Illinois and western
Indiana is named the "Danville Member," after the area where it was first discovered. Danville also served as a significant manufacturing center during the early 1900s, and the city's population doubled between 1900 and 1920. During this time Danville also acted as a rail hub for both passenger and freight service. The Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers opened in 1898 and, by 1910, 4,257 veterans were at the branch. This branch was the eighth of ten branches founded by the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS), nationwide, between 1866 and 1929. 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. The first Danville Public Library was formed out of various existing collections in 1883 and was replaced by a Carnegie library in 1904. In 1910, a group of 9 elephants escaped from a Ringling circus and ran through Danville before being recaptured. An extension University of Illinois was created in Danville in 1946. The extension became an independent junior college in 1949. The college, later called Danville Area Community College, acquired several historic buildings from the Veterans Administration which were renovated throughout the 1960s for educational purposes. By 1966 only 6 mines remained in Vermilion County. 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. ==Geography==