In Trust

A petition was sent to the General Assembly of Virginia on November 19, 1787 stating:

            "They pray for an Act to establish the land into a town called Danville"


The petition reads that Walker Daniel

      "...proceeded to lay off a part of the land into lots and streets and disposed of some of the lots".

Walker was killed by Indians the 12th of August 1784.  After his death Robert Daniel [the oldest remaining brother] laid the remainder of the land off into lots and streets.  The petition continues

      "For the safety of purchases Robert has conveyed in fee simple the streets and springs within the tract of George Muter, Harry Innes, Peter Tardiveau, Thomas Perkins, and Andrew McCalla in trust for the benefit of the inhabitants."

This is first listing of the folks who resided in Danville prior to it becoming an "official" city.  The town lands were placed "in trust" to these folks for the first three years of the life of Danville.  Thank you for keeping this trust.

Taken from "KEN-TAH-THE" , The Life and Times of Walker Daniel... p.34.

Town Lot #34

The town lots that were to become the city of Danville came under the control of  Robert Daniel, the "Heir at Law" to our Walker Daniel.  One of the first acts of business was to sell the town lots.  Lots were sold beginning February 22, 1785 through June 2, 1792. [Kentucky became a State on June 1, 1792.]   The first lot to be sold was "lot #34".  Its position is shown on the figure below.  North is to the top of the page.

John Hunter was the first to own a lot in Danville!  His purchase is dated 22 February, 1785.  Lot #34 is colored blue and lies on the corner of  "Second Street" [now Market Street] and "Cross Street" [now Third Street].  The parking garage is now located on lot #21, the old Methodist Church now stands on lot #22, and the educational wing of the hospital begins on lot #33.  The center of town in 1785 this town lot #34.

[This information is taken from my book titled: "KEN - TAH - THE" The Life and Times of Walker Daniel Founder of the Town Lands of Danville, Kentucky 18th Day of June 1784".]  Whew...a picture of the cover is shown below.  It was published 2009.

Present Day Placement

Where the 63 lots of the "town lands of Danville" were exactly located has been a point of discussion.  The main problem in this discussion, is that the plan of Danville most often used is from the book by Calvin Morgan Fackler, titled "Early Days In Danville".  The names of the streets on this plan are usually assumed to be the same names, and in the same locations, that are used today.  This is not the case.

The following figure is my attempt to place these 63 lots in their positions as they would have been located in 1784.  Please note the names of the streets are different as they are in present day Danville.

The "Public Square" is in the same location as it is today.  The name "1st Street" is still in the same location. It extended on the eastern side southward along the "Public Square".  The present "Main Street" was called "Broad Street".  Now "Second Street" is present day "Walnut Street" which is not the location of "Second Street" of today.  "Third Street" is today called "Martin Luther King Jr." and is not the location that "Third Street" is today.  "Main Cross Street" is the name that was given to the center of town. [Third Street today.]  "West Street" is now "4th Street", and the end of the town lands would come to what is called "Church Street" today.  The courthouse now stands in Lot #6.  Whew...lets try and review:

                        Main Street (of today) = Broad Street in 1784

                        1st Street (of today) = 1st Street in 1784 (extended down the Public Square)

                        2nd Street (of today) = Market Street in 1784

                        3rd Street (of today) =  Main Cross Street in 1784

                        4th Street (of today) =  West Street in 1784

                        Walnut Street (of today) = 2nd Street of 1784

                        Martin Luther King (of today) = 3rd Street of 1784

The west end of town would end where Church Street stands today.  What a deal... the present day placement of the town lots of 1784.

A Town Lot

The 76 acres for the town lands of Danville were organized into 63 equal size lots.  A public square was also planned and outline as shown in the figure below.

To orient you, north is at the top of the page.  Constitution Square is shown as "Public Square" with Main Street called "Broad Street".  [It was to be 90 feet wide whereas the other streets were to be 60 feet wide, thus "Broad Street".]  The public square was to be "20 poles 6' 3" in length [north to south] and "14 poles 10' 6" wide. [east to west]  One pole equals 16'5" square.  The next figure zeros in on "No 1" which begins the numbering system for the lots of Danville.

It is on the corner of "Broad Street" and "Market Street". [The present Main and Second Street.]  Each of the 62 lots were to be of equal size with the dimensions shown above.  They were to be "8 poles 2'6" north to south, and  "10 poles 3'1/2" east to west.  This would be 134ft. 6 inches by 168ft. 1/2 inch east to west.  It takes a bit to get organized to the plat since the names are different then we call them today.  Here you go, town lot #1 in Danville, 1784!  More to come.

The Documentation

Records from the pages of history are part of the story.  Documentation is the role.  The following pages are copies of  the documents used to write the story of Danville.  They are given for those who might want to research the primary documents for their own understand. 

Microfilm "REEL NO. 1" is the source for much of the documentation regarding the early days of Danville. [Part of Virginia at this time.]  The reels are stored in Frankfort at the Kentucky History Society Museum.  They were filmed by the Kentucky Historical Society July 18, 1969.

The reel contains the first 528 pages of the supreme court records of Kentucky District beginning 11-4-1783.  The above page is from the index of this record showing the listing "Danville Plan of Town" on page 67.  This record is the first story of our town Danville.  Check it out.

The Town Spring

The precise location of the earliest landmark defining the town lands of Danville goes by the name "The Town Spring".  There has been general agreement that this spring is near First Avenue, and a variety of specific areas have been suggested.  This spring can be located on a city map of 1876.  The following is shown:

First Avenue is clearly marked.  It extends south along the square and crosses Main Street.  [This was originally called "Broad Street" because it was 90' wide and" broader" then any other street of the original town surveys.  A stream is shown beginning at the middle of First Street behind a house labeled "J. Meuir" as best as I can tell.

An enlargement of this area is shown above giving more of an outline of its flow. [I have traced the stream as it flows SW to Main Street, continuing SW to what was originally called "Second Street".  It then flows almost due south.]

Now using the survey recorded in the very first patent, place the town lands of Danville as drawn.

"A" is the beginning at a "Sugar Tree" near spring known by the name of "Town Spring".

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This blog "Historic Danville KY" is written for those who have an interest in the history of Danville, KY.

You may not use the contents of this site (blog and post) for commercial purposes without explicit written permission from the author and  blog owner.  Commercial purposes includes blogs with ads and income generation features, and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content.  Full content usage is not permitted.

Jerry E. Jones, MD, MS, The Jones Genealogist, Library of Congress No. 6192-01064476.