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Mechanicsville Historic District

Buildings and structures in Danville, VirginiaHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in VirginiaNRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Danville, VirginiaSouthern Virginia Registered Historic Place stubs
Use mdy dates from August 2023
High Street Baptist Church in Danville
High Street Baptist Church in Danville

The Mechanicsville Historic District encompasses a small and cohesive working-class neighborhood west of downtown Danville, Virginia. The district is bounded by Upper Street on the northwest; North Floyd Street on the northeast; High Street on the southeast; and North Ridge Street on the southwest. This area was developed beginning roughly in 1880 as a residential district catering to workers in the nearby tobacco-processing facilities. The houses in the district are in a blend of styles, but are characterized by similar lot sizes and setbacks. The district includes two churches, and a building that originally served as a tobacco prizery (a building where tobacco leaves are packed into barrels). The neighborhood was a center of civil rights activism during the 1960s, playing host to Martin Luther King Jr. It was once somewhat larger; areas to the west and north were razed during urban redevelopment efforts.The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mechanicsville Historic District (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Mechanicsville Historic District
Monroe Street, Danville

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 36.589166666667 ° E -79.397777777778 °
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Address

Monroe Street 654
24541 Danville
Virginia, United States
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High Street Baptist Church in Danville
High Street Baptist Church in Danville
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Bloody Monday (Danville)

Bloody Monday is a name used to describe a series of arrests and attacks that took place during a civil rights protest held on June 10, 1963, in Danville, Virginia. It was held to protest segregation laws and racial inequality and was one of several protests held during the month of June. It attracted veteran protesters from out of town, such as Ivanhoe Donaldson, Avon Rollins, Robert Zellner and Dorthy Miller (Zellner) of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The events received widespread criticism from national media, especially for the subsequent trials overseen by Judge Archibald M. Aiken.During the day thirty-eight protesters were arrested and jailed for their participation in the protests. In response fifty protesters gathered at the city jail to hold a prayer vigil that evening. Participants at the vigil were attacked by the town's police and deputized citizens using billy clubs and water hoses. Sixty-five people were taken to the town's African-American hospital as a result of the events of that day. Forty-seven of the victims were people attending the prayer vigil. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Danville to support the demonstrators on July 11, 1963, but chose not to hold a march.Judge Aiken began trying the arrested protesters on June 17. His handling of the cases of those arrested has received criticism from several people and organizations such as the United States Department of Justice. During the trials Aiken refused to give out bills of particulars or grant continuances or bail. He also announced guilty verdicts from a pre-typed script and made it nearly, if not completely, impossible for the defendants to appeal their sentences.