By now, you’ve seen our name and a couple stories on the website. But what is the Danville Historical Society? What do we do? Let’s go through a couple quick questions to flesh that out.
Question 1: Who Are We?
You’ve heard about Pocahontas. But did you know about Bearskin, the Saponi tribe member who helped colonists shape the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina? Or what about “the Danville System,” the unique sales system created here for the tobacco industry?
Danville also served as a major supply depot during the Civil War and housed POW camps during World War II. This was where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “Justice denied” speech.
But that history can get lost over time. Photos get misplaced. Documents get thrown away and architecture demolished.
That’s where the Danville Historical Society steps in. Founded in 1971, it’s our job to preserve those stories.
Question 2: Which Danville?
We focus on our home, the city of Danville, Virginia.
Question 3: What Do We Do?
To preserve this city’s history, we collect artifacts, historical documents and other materials. We search for yearbooks, family genealogies and even cookbooks. If there’s a 1930s painting or 1960s photo, we want them too.
We write up articles, sharing this history as we collect it. For example, did you know Danville once made its own money? We explain why and when right here.
We’re also here to help you find answers. Need some help researching a family tree? Looking for the exact location of Luna Lake? Trying to remember the name of the store on the corner of Cabell and Lynn? We want to help with that. In addition, we work closely with several other local historical societies and genealogy groups. If we can’t find it, we will find someone who can.
Want us to help with your research? Just click here and schedule an appointment or email us at danvillehistorical@gmail.com.
Question 4: Who Is Involved?
Who makes up the current group? There are 11 of us involved in the society’s work. That includes:
President-Robin Marcato
Vice President-Gus Dyer
Treasurer- Steve Mand
Recording Secretary- Pamela McKirdy
Board of Directors: Karice Luck Brimmer, Petrina Carter, Ina Dixon, Ruby Douglas, Sonja Ingram, Andrew Hessler and Michael McNeely.
Want to get involved? You’ve got a couple ways to do it. You can click here to get more information.
Question 5: How can you reach us?
Now that you know who we are and what we do, it’s time for the big question. How can you reach us? If you want help with research, we can do that. Need a question answered? We’ll try our best to help. Want to go through our stockpile of documents? Just schedule an appointment and we can make that happen. To do any of that, there are a few ways to get in touch.
Send us mail at: P.O. Box 6, Danville VA 24543
Email us at: danvillehistorical@gmail.com
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