The White Mill, just outside of Mechanicsville, under construction around 1920. This was one of the major employers of Mechanicsville residents.
Monroe Street, around 1920. As can be seen, the road was unpaved and it was composed primarily of houses, some of which still stand today.
An aerial view of downtown Danville, with Mechanicsville visible on the far left. As can be seen, the district was less developed than downtown but included a number of tobacco warehouses, as well as homes.
High Street and Union Street around 1940. A tobacco warehouse is seen in the background, with product being hauled at the corner of High and Union Streets.
Another shot of a tobacco warehouse and product being hauled at the corner of High and Union Streets circa 1940.
An aerial shot of the Mechanicsville neighborhood in the early to mid 1900s. The White Mill (Dan River Fabrics) and an active pedestrian bridge loom in the background. Various tobacco warehouses and larger structures can be seen along Memorial Drive. A combination of single family and multi-family homes fill the neighborhood.
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at High Street Baptist Church on July 11, 1963. He visited the Church twice in 1963, and also gave a speech at the Danville City Auditorium across the street.
This aerial image from the later part of the 1900s shows the development of the mall and big box stores along Riverside Drive, across the river. This large commercialization north of downtown had a negative impact on the success of downtown and neighboring communities, such as Mechanicsville.
About Mechanicsville
The Mechanicsville study area is shown in the red area on the map to the left. The area emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a distinctive, ethnically mixed neighborhood of tradesmen, educators, skilled workers, and laborers associated with Danville’s textile and tobacco industries. Although the source of the name “Mechanicsville” is not well-known today, it’s well documented, beginning after the Civil War. African-Americans made up the majority of the tobacco labor force, and, as a result, Mechanicsville and the “Dan Hill” area to the south of Main Street became neighborhoods for freedmen in the years following the Civil War.
As Mechanicsville grew, churches and social halls were built. The High Street Baptist Church was built in 1901 and has strong ties to the Civil Rights Movement. Its former pastor, the Reverend Lendell W. Chase, was a civil rights activist and presidents of the Danville Christian Progressive Association. The church served as the headquarters for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee while it helped to organize protests in Danville. In 1963, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech at High Street Baptist Church, tying Mechanicsville to a pivotal era in American history.