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Danville is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,055.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51590.html )〕 It is bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It hosts the Danville Braves baseball club of the Appalachian League. Danville is the principal city of the Danville, Virginia Micropolitan Statistical Area. ==History== 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 1728, English colonist William Byrd headed an expedition sent to determine the true boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. One night late that summer, the party camped upstream from what is now Danville, Byrd was so taken with the beauty of the land, that he prophesied a future settlement in the vicinity, where people would live “with much comfort and gaiety of Heart.” The river along which he camped was named the “Dan”, for Byrd, supposing himself to be in the land of plenty, felt he had wandered “from Dan to Beersheba”. The first European-American settlement developed in 1792 downstream from Byrd’s campsite, at a spot along the river shallow enough to allow fording. It was named “Wynne’s Falls,” after the first settler. The village had a “social” reason for its origin, growing from the meetings of pioneering Revolutionary War veterans, who gathered annually to fish and talk over old times. In 1793, the General Assembly authorized construction of a tobacco warehouse at Wynne’s Falls, marking the start of the town as "The World’s Best Tobacco Market,” Virginia’s largest market for "bright leaf" tobacco. The village was renamed Danville by act of the Virginia Legislature on November 23, 1793. A charter for the town was drawn up February 17, 1830, but by the time of its issue, the population had exceeded the pre-arranged boundaries. This necessitated a new charter, which was issued in 1833. In that year, James Lanier was elected the first mayor, assisted by a council of “twelve fit and able men.” By the mid-19th century, William T. Sutherlin, a planter and entrepreneur, was the first to apply water power to run a tobacco press, and he became a major industrialist in the region. Several railroads reached Danville including the Richmond and Danville Railroad (Completed 1856), the Atlantic and Danville Railway (completed 1890), enabling the export of Danville's manufacturing and agricultural products. Due to the falls on the river, the area was prime for industrial development based on water power. On July 22, 1882, six of Danville’s citizens founded the Riverside Cotton Mills. In its day it was known nationally as Dan River Inc., the largest single-unit textile mill in the world. The mill is now closed; since the late 20th century, the textile industry has moved to offshore, cheaper labor markets. Many of Dan River's buildings have been torn down and the bricks sold. "The White Mill," considered historically and architecturally significant, is being renovated in the early 21st century as an apartment complex. On September 9, 1882, Danville mayor John H. Johnston shot and killed John E. Hatcher, his chief of police. Hatcher had demanded an apology for a statement Johnston had made regarding unaccounted fine money. Johnston was charged with murder, but he was acquitted at trial, as the Southern "culture of honor" was still strong.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Hatcher Families Genealogy Society )〕 A dramatic train wreck occurred in Danville. On September 27, 1903, “Old 97,” the Southern Railway’s crack express mail train, was running behind schedule. Its engineer “gave her full throttle,” but the speed of the train caused it to jump the tracks on a high trestle crossing the valley of the Dan. The engine and five cars plunged into the ravine below, killing nine and injuring seven. The locomotive and its engineer, Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, were memorialized in song. A historic marker at the train crash site is located on U.S. 58 between Locust Lane and North Main Street. A mural of the Wreck of the Old 97 has been painted on a downtown Danville building in memory of the incident. On March 2, 1911, Danville Police Chief R. E. Morris, who had been elected to three two-year terms and was running for a fourth term, was arrested as an escaped convicted murderer. He admitted that he was really Edgar Stribling of Harris County, Georgia, and had been on the run for thirteen years.〔("Arrest Police Chief as Escaped Convict" ), ''The New York Times'', March 3, 1911. Retrieved January 10, 2008.〕 The restructuring of the tobacco, textile, and railroad industries all had an adverse effect here, resulting in the loss of many jobs in Danville. The region has struggled to develop new bases for the economy. The losses have made it difficult to preserve the city's many architecturally and historically significant properties dating from its more prosperous years. In 2007 Preservation Virginia President William B. Kerkam, III, and its Executive Director Elizabeth S. Kostelny announced at a 2007 press conference held in Danville at Main Street Methodist Church that the entire city of Danville has been named one of the Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Danville, Virginia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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