Danville Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Danville Community in Gregg County. Now settle in, because this one's got roots that go deep into East Texas soil. We're talkin' about a place that was established around 1847 — a community that answered to two names, Danville and New Danville, and that outlasted more than a few towns that never even made it to a second decade.

The marker says it was reportedly named by S. Slade Barnett and his family, who wanted to honor their former hometown of Danville, Kentucky. They carried the old name with them across all those miles, and they planted it right here in the piney woods of what would become Gregg County.

Now that's the kind of stubborn affection for home that Texans tend to respect. The spot they chose wasn't random, either. It sat along the intersection of major roadways running to Marshall, Tyler, and Henderson — three directions, three destinations, all passing through one little crossroads.

And nearby? An old Indian village called Bighead Village. The marker gives you two possible explanations for that name: either it came from a nearby creek, or it came from the Nadaco Chief named Bighead, who himself played a part in something called the Fredonia Rebellion.

Two possibilities, one name, and the marker leaves it right there — which is honestly its own kind of story. The families who built Danville were coming in from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and other southeastern states, arriving through the mid-1840s. They were putting down roots in earnest.

By 1848, the community had organized the Gum Spring Presbyterian Church — the very congregation that would eventually become the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore. Then in 1852, the Danville Masonic Lodge No. 101 was chartered, with S. Slade Barnett himself as an initial member of both organizations.

That lodge was no small thing — the marker makes clear it played a large part in the social and educational life of the community. Danville was buildin' something that mattered. The post office came along in 1850, though it opened under the name Rabbit Creek.

By 1852, it had been changed to New Danville, with John W. Wilson serving as the first postmaster. That post office would keep the mail movin' until 1873.

The people who settled here were mostly traditional farmers, but there were also doctors, merchants, mechanics, and teachers among them — the kind of mix that means a community is trying to be self-sufficient, trying to last. And for a while, it really did. At its height, after the Civil War, Danville was home to several stores, saloons, a blacksmith shop, a saw mill, and a mule-powered cotton gin.

You can almost hear the town humming along. But here's where the story takes its turn — and in Texas history, there's nearly always a turn. The 1870s arrived, and with them came the International-Great Northern Railroad.

Only the railroad didn't come through Danville. It bypassed the town entirely. And when the railroad went somewhere else, so did the people.

Residents and businesses moved to the new town of Kilgore, right there along the rail line. The traffic that had made Danville's crossroads valuable dried up almost overnight. The town that S.

Slade Barnett's family had named for a place they loved, that had organized churches and chartered lodges and kept a post office running for more than two decades — that town quietly emptied out. But here's what the marker wants you to carry with you: Danville remains one of the oldest settlements in what became Gregg County. The railroad took the people.

It couldn't take the history.

What the marker says

Also known as New Danville, this rural community was established around 1847, and reportedly named by S. Slade Barnett and family in honor of their former hometown of Danville, Kentucky. Located along the intersection of major roadways to Marshall, Tyler and Henderson, the townsite was near an old indian village called Bighead Village, either named after a nearby creek, or the Nadaco Chief named Bighead who played a part in the Fredonia Rebellion. Families from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and other southeastern states began to settle here in the mid-1840s. In 1848, the Gum Spring Presbyterian Church (now known as the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore) was organized by the community, and the Danville Masonic Lodge No. 101 was chartered in 1852 with S. Slade Barnett as an initial member of both organizations. The masonic lodge would play a large part in the social and educational life of the community. A post office opened in 1850 under the name Rabbit Creek but was changed to New Danville in 1852, with John W. Wilson as the first postmaster. The post office operated until 1873. The majority of the families that settled in Danville were traditional farmers along with several doctors, merchants, mechanics, teachers and more. At its height after the Civil War, Danville was the location of several stores, saloons, a blacksmith shop, saw mill, and mule-powered cotton gin. The community continued to prosper until the 1870s when the International-Great Northern Railroad bypassed the town. Many of the town's residents and businesses moved to the new town of Kilgore along the railroad. Danville remains one of the oldest settlements in what became Gregg County. (2017)