Danville, Washington

Danville, Washington
—  Unincorporated community  —
Danville, Washington
Coordinates: 48°59′33″N 118°30′29″W / 48.9925°N 118.50806°W / 48.9925; -118.50806Coordinates: 48°59′33″N 118°30′29″W / 48.9925°N 118.50806°W / 48.9925; -118.50806
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Ferry
Elevation	1,745 ft (532 m)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	99121
Area code(s)	509
GNIS feature ID	1518480[1]

Danville is an unincorporated community in Ferry County, Washington, United States. Danville is located on Washington State Route 21 near the Canadian border, 26 miles (42 km) north-northeast of Republic. Danville has a post office with ZIP code 99121.^[2] The population at the 2010 census was 34.

Danville was founded in 1899 and took its name from the Danville Mining Company.^[3]

Early Years

Danville was the first town in the county. Danville was originally known as Nelson and was established in 1889 by the Nelson brothers. By 1897 the town had half a dozen businesses and a post office. The town also had the first newspaper in the county called the Reservation Record. In 1897 the Nelson brothers built a commodious store right on the international boundary line with a north entrance and a south entrance. The north entrance was to serve the Canadian patrons and the north entrance to serve the American patrons. The authorities suspected customs duty evasion and closed the store. In 1901 the Washington and Great Northern railroad built through Nelson. The railroad officials had Nelson's name changed to Danville to avoid confusion with Nelson in British Columbia. When the mines in the area became depleted Danville slipped in importance. ^[4]

1920s

In the 1920s some level of prosperity returned to Danville with prohibition. Danville became a whiskey smugglers rendezvous. The whiskey smugglers used local guides and old trails to avoid detection by the border authorities. When prohibition came to an end Danville went into a state of decline. The town changed as a series of fires also took their toll. It was rumored that old Man Jennings the justice of the peace used to counterfeit half dollars.^[5]

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Danville, Washington
2. ^ ZIP Code Lookup
3. ^ Majors, Harry M. (1975). Exploring Washington. Van Winkle Publishing Co. p. 55. ISBN 9780918664006. http://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ. 
4. ^ N.L. Barlee
 (2004), Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns of Northeastern Washington. Hancock House Publishers. 
5. ^ N.L. Barlee
 (2004), Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns of Northeastern Washington. Hancock House Publishers.