Danville is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,335 at the 2020 census. The primary settlement in town is recorded as the Danville census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 385 at the 2020 census.

History

Danville was established on October 31, 1786, by the Vermont Legislature, making it one of the last towns to be created in Caledonia County.

The town was named for the 18th-century French cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville.

A debtors' prison was located here in the late 18th to the early 19th centuries.

A thief in West Danville made national news in 2008 when he apologized for robbing a convenience store and left a roll of one-dollar bills to allow the store to open up the next morning.

The annual convention of the American Society of Dowsers is held in Danville.

In July 2017, the Charles D. Brainerd Public Library reopened in the village of West Danville, making the town once again home to Vermont's smallest library.

Education

Danville School is the town's public school but is open to tuition students from surrounding towns. It serves preschool through grade 12, totaling approximately 400 students. The school is located at 148 Peacham Road, Danville, Vermont 05828 and is a part of the Danville School District. The school was established in 1990 to replace the North Danville School.

Geography

thumb|left|Joe's Pond as seen from the Danville Bike Path in early August

Danville is located west of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Other towns bordering Danville are Barnet to the southeast, Peacham to the south, Cabot and Walden to the west, Stannard to the northwest, Wheelock to the north, and Lyndon to the northeast, touching Danville at a single corner. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.67%, is water. The main village in town (not separately incorporated) comprises the Danville CDP, with an area of , all land.

U.S. Route 2 runs through the town, connecting St. Johnsbury to the east with Montpelier to the west. In West Danville the two-lane highway passes Joes Pond (named after Indian Joe), which extends into Cabot. Vermont Route 15 leaves US-2 in West Danville, heading northwest towards Hardwick and Morrisville.

The highest point in Danville is a summit on the ridge of the Kittredge Hills along the western border of the town.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Danville has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Joe's Pond and Joe's Brook

thumb|left|West Danville and Joe's Pond, VT, from the east

The only major body of water in the town is the Joe's Pond, which covers and is partially in Danville and partially in neighboring Cabot to the west. Game fish in the pond include lake trout, smallmouth bass, northern pike (which were illegally introduced), rainbow smelt, rock bass, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel, yellow perch, and brown bullhead. The bridge is owned by the Town of Danville, has a queen post truss, and is 74 feet, 9.5 inches in length and 14 feet, 6.5 inches in width.

According to the U.S. census

  • Asa P. Blunt (1835–1889), 12th Regular Vermont Infantry Volunteers; Brigadier General U.S.V
  • Beth Chamberlin, Daytime Emmy Award nominated star of "Guiding Light"
  • Arthur M. Chickering, arachnologist
  • Augustine Clarke, Anti-Masonic Party leader and Vermont State Treasurer
  • Charles Davis (1789–1863), Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Benjamin F. Deming, U.S. Representative from Vermont
  • Henry Leavenworth, early U.S. infantry officer and explorer
  • Cyrus Miner, Wisconsin state legislator and businessman
  • William A. Palmer, Governor of Vermont and United States Senator
  • Thaddeus Stevens, U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania
  • Mary Eastman Ward (1843–1907), poet
  • Mary Thompson Hill Willard (1805–1892), social reformer

See also

  • Danville, Quebec, founded by residents of Danville, Vermont

References

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  • Town of Danville official website