-
Amazing Paxtons in China – Part 1
Paxton Origins In his excellent book, If Streets Could Talk (available on Amazon), Dr. R. Lee Wayland tells much about the Paxton family. John W. Paxton was born in Rockbridge County in 1786. As a young man, he learned the jewelry art and trade in Lexington, Virginia. He arrived here in the area then known as Wynn’s Falls in 1812. John W. Paxton opened a silversmith shop on the north side of Main Street just above Market Street. He also was an owner of the Red Castle Tavern located at the corner of Main and Union Streets. In 1815, he married Sarah Coleman Price and with her had four sons and…
-
The Flinn House, 841 Main Street
The house at 841 Main Street was constructed in 1881 for tobacconist Calvin Maurice Flinn. Flinn, born in 1838, was a native of Stokes County, North Carolina. He came to Danville after the Civil War and had a drug store in the Masonic Temple. However, by 1878, He was associated with P. W. Ferrell in the tobacco business. Mr. Flinn’s residence in the home was cut quite short when he passed away on the first day of 1888. His wife Bettie died in 1901. It appears the house remained vacant for some years. In the 1910s and early 1920s, the home was rented to Danville’s mayor, Capt. Harry Wooding. The…
-
Congratulations and Thanks Michelle and Luke
At first, it was nice just to have Old West End business owners, Michelle Bowers (Old House Life) and Luke Ramsey (Ramsey Restoration) enter a float in the Christmas Parade. It got better when their joint float won first prize in the corporate division of the parade (trophy photo at top). Congratulations Michelle and Luke! Better yet, they were asked to enter the float in the holiday light show at Ballou Park, shown on site below. The float, largely unchanged and completely unplanned, placed third in that event. Congratulations again, Michelle and Luke! Best of all, from the perspective of the Gazette, winners of the holiday light show direct a…
-
Popular Toys – 1921, 1946, 1971, 1996
Lincoln Logs were first patented in 1920 and were the Christmas toy of choice in 1921. Invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the first sets were used to build cabins. Later, sets were available to build larger structures. In 1946, 75 years ago, metal was available to toy manufacturers for the first time since the beginning of the war. The big winner that year was Lionel Trains with their ability to go fast or slow, forward or back. Fifty years ago, Weebles were the toy of choice. Kids were hypnotized by their erratic movements. Somehow, the advertising that said, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall…
-
John Thomas Watson
John Thomas Watson was born in 1828, the eldest of ten children of Alanson Lee Watson and Emily Elizabeth Yarborough Watson. Emily was the granddaughter of Revolutionary War hero Captain Benjamin Merrill, a “pioneer of North Carolina” captured by the British in 1777 and executed for treason. In 1847, John Thomas Watson, or J. T., came to Danville to practice law. Ten years later, he married Anne Green Read, sister to Clara Read and daughter to George Whitfield Read, whom we’ve discussed in a previous post. In the 1860 Census, J. T. appears with historically significant Danvillians such as W.T. Sutherlin, Levi Holbrook, George W. Read, and Thomas Doe. J.…
-
Five Forks Retail
The shopping area of Five Forks has had many incarnations. We know that commercial development of the area began between 1877 and 1890. Hagan’s Central Pharmacy was trading by that time. Sanborn insurance maps from 1899 show the west side of Jefferson Street between Jefferson Avenue and Pine Street had three stores – numbers 402, 400½, and 400 – had two grocers and a tailor. The buildings there at the time were likely of frame construction. Before 1910, the building at 400 Jefferson Street was replaced by the present brick construction. Also by 1910, Sanborn shows all these buildings contained grocers. Samuel Martin had his store at 400 Jefferson Street,…
-
Shay Ayala
Main Street’s own Shay Alaya was featured in the October issue of Showcase Magazine. She is the founder of Solflower LLC. Shay, through Solflower, provides doula services and training, breastfeeding support and advocacy, and natal card preparation and tarot card reading upon request. For many, a doula, pronounced “doo-luh,” is confused with a midwife. A doula’s role during birth is not to deliver a child but to provide coaching for a mother and her partner pre, present, and post-birth. It wasn’t until Ayala realized a family-friend, I’man Boykin, owner of Sacred Beginnings, was a holistic doula that she felt confident to fulfill her calling to become a doula as well.…
-
Hagan’s Central Pharmacy
The building at 260 Jefferson has an unusual address and an interesting history. It sits on the corner of the thoroughfares now called Jefferson Avenue and Jefferson Street. How this curiosity came about remains a mystery, but sometime between 1930 and 1935, only the section of Jefferson Street between Main Street and Loyal Street became known as Jefferson Avenue. According to the 1877 Beers Map of Danville, the area we know as Five Forks was undeveloped but began to grow soon after. This building was clearly present and occupied by 1890. It is most strongly associated with John Lyle Hagan, born in Christiansburg, Virginia in 1860. On arriving in Danville…
-
Worsham Bridge and Five Forks
What does the Worsham Street Bridge have to do with the Old West End? Actually, quite a bit, but perhaps we should begin by addressing the Worsham Street Bridge itself. The original bridge extended Worsham Street on the north side to the Tobacco Warehouse District on the south, dead ending at Bridge Street. It was smaller iron-and-wood bridge built in the early 1900s, the highest bridge across the Dan. It was used primarily by foot traffic and for farmers bringing their wagons to the tobacco markets. Its only known photo is shown below. This bridge was not fit for the heavier car and truck traffic of the 1920s and was…
-
Jefferson and Loyal
The plot of land on the northwest corner of Jefferson and Loyal Streets was first the home of the private Danville Female Academy. The school was established in 1831 – before Danville became a city. The school’s founders – George Townes, Benjamin W. S. Cabell, William Tunstall, William R. Chaplin, James Lanier (later Danville’s first mayor), Nathaniel T. Green, John W. Chew, Samuel D. Rawlins, Samuel Stone, Nathaniel Wilson, John Ross, William Linn, and James D. Patton – believed in the importance of female education. A building erected in a retired (quiet and secluded) section of Danville at the corner of Jefferson and Loyal Streets was occupied in January 1832.…
