Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River.
The city was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity during the American Civil War , [ 4 ] due to its strategic location on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. In April , Danville briefly served as the third and final capital of the Confederacy before its surrender later that year. Danville has maintained an African American majority population since the Reconstruction era.
During this time, the city was represented politically by African American members of the Readjuster Party. However, this changed following the Danville Massacre of , after which Democrats regained control both locally and statewide. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with surrounding Pittsylvania County for statistical purposes. The population was 42, at the census.
It hosts the Danville Otterbots baseball club of the Appalachian League. Numerous Native American tribes had lived in this part of the Piedmont region since prehistoric times. During the colonial period, the area was inhabited by Siouan language -speaking tribes.
In , English colonist William Byrd headed an expedition sent to determine the true boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.
