Danville, a charming city nestled in the administrative region of Estrie, Quebec, Canada, is a place where history and culture intertwine. As of the 2016 Canadian Census, the city was home to 3,836 residents.
Danville is situated on a stretch of the Chemin Craig, a 19th-century road that served as a vital link between Quebec and New England. The city is approximately 70 miles north of the Vermont border. American loyalists from New England began settling here in 1783, naming the town after their hometown in Vermont, Danville. The founder of Danville, Quebec was Simeon Flint, a resident of Danville, Vermont.
Until the early 1970s, the majority of Danville's population was Anglophone. However, a significant migration of the younger generation to English Canada, Greater Montreal, or New England occurred in the mid-1970s.
Danville, Quebec is home to numerous heritage buildings, including three Protestant churches (Christian Adventist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Canada), two Anglican churches, an Evangelical Baptist church, and a Roman Catholic church. The Presbyterian church has been transformed into a four-star restaurant, while the Christian Advent church has been a private residence since 2007. The current United church, completed in 1875 for a Congregational parish, is the oldest church in the town.
Danville, Quebec boasts two primary schools: a French language school, École Masson, and an English-speaking school, known as ADS (Asbestos-Shipton-Danville).
At the heart of the city is a square, formed by the enlargement of an intersection. This square houses a memorial for soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korea War. Another memorial, dedicated to Private Timothy O'Hea, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, stands in front of the former City Hall.
Once a bustling town inhabited by workers of the nearby Johns Manville asbestos mine, Danville, Quebec has quieted down considerably since the mine's closure. The bucolic rolling fields in the area are ideal for farming, with many farms having been around for over a century. Both dairy and beef cattle are raised in the area, although other livestock are also common.
Each year, Danville, Quebec hosts an art symposium where local artists gather in the town's many churches to display their artwork.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Danville had a population of 3,888 living in 1,778 of its 1,878 total private dwellings. This represented a change of 1.6% from its 2016 population of 3,826. With a land area of 151.73 km2 (58.58 sq mi), it had a population density of 25.6/km2 (66.4/sq mi) in 2021.
