Danville dates to 1824, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #209 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 79 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Danville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Danville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #209 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Danville’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Danville’s 80.2 sits above most of its state (80% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 94 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1824.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Danville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Danville, building by building, 1886–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Danville was founded in 1824, and its post office one year later. Danville was incorporated as a town in 1835.
The Ora Adams House, Leander Campbell House, Danville Courthouse Square Historic District, Danville Main Street Historic District, Dr. Jeremiah and Ann Jane DePew House, Hendricks County Jail and Sheriff's Residence, Twin Bridges, and Wilson-Courtney House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Danville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions1914 · page 51Read the page →
Read the text
The record of incorporation of the town of Danville reads as follows : "We, the undersigned, President and Clerk of an election held at the court house in the town of Danville, on the 24th day of January, A. D. 1835, agreeably to an order of the Board of County Commissioners, within and for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania1881 · page 261Read the page →
Read the text
The charming location of Riverside combines the elements of beauty and convenience with a highly favorable place for business. It adjoins South Danville, is convenient to the railroad depot on the D. ■W. & Hazelton railroad, and is surrounded by all that ministers to a pleasant home. With the broad Susquehanna river in front, the lively town of Danville on the opposite shore and the picturesque hills that mark the bold scenery around it. Riverside affords the most delightful place for a country residence. No doubt when our
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania1881 · page 232Read the page →
Read the text
Danville is well provided with railroads. There are no less than three running in every direction and connecting at all points with the great iron checker work reaching every nook and corner of the country. The first lailroad built through the town of Danville was the Catawissa, now a branch of the Reading railroad, and strange to say it was laid with rails manufactured in England. So much for low wages in E^^gland and low tariff in America. The location of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Hendricks County, Indiana1885 · page 487Read the page →
Read the text
Danville was incorporated early in its history, as is seen from the following record: u We, the undersigned, President and Clerk of an election held at the court-house in the town of Danville, on the 24th day of Janu¬ ary, A. D. 1835, agreeably to an order of the Board of County Commissioners, within and for the county of Hendricks, at their January term, 1835, for the purpose of electing five Trustees to serve the. corporation of said town of Danville, do certify that at
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Danville, 1824 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Danville EastDanville SouthPrimitive BaptistSaint Augustine Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Danville’s history
What year was Danville founded?
In 1824, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Danville’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1850 counted 386 people here.
How does Danville rank for history?
Danville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #209 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Danville?
10 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Hendricks County Jail and Sheriff's Residence (listed 1983, the first), 2 historic districts, the Danville Main Street Historic District and the Danville Courthouse Square Historic District, with 79 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 94 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Danville?
12% of Danville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1991.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1888
1987
2022
2021
2016
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2007
