Danville

City in Pittsylvania County (from which it is administratively separate), southern Virginia, USA, situated to the north of the North Carolina border on the Dan River, 88 kn/55 mi southeast of Roanoke; population (2000) 48,400. It is a market and processing centre for bright-leaf tobacco, and is also known for its textile industry, particularly the Dan River mills, at one time the largest cotton mills in the world. Danville also produces glass, tools, tires, and insulating materials. The city is the home of Averett College (1859) and Danville Community College (1967).

Danville was founded in 1793, and incorporated as a city in 1870. During the Civil War, it was the site of a prison camp, hospital, and supply depot; many Union soldiers are buried in its national cemetery. For a few days after the fall of Richmond in 1865, it served as the capital of the Confederacy.