Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Danville, KS

Danville is a tiny city in Harper County in south-central Kansas — not the much larger Danvilles of Illinois or Virginia — sitting in Odell Township about 12 miles northeast of Anthony, the county seat.

Danville's 60-acre town site was laid out in 1880 by Mrs. Cole, and its first post office was established under the name Coleville before the town took the Danville name.

Danville's first newspaper, the Danville Argus, was started on November 10, 1882, and the town's first church building was erected by its Presbyterian society the same year at a cost of about $800.

In its early years Danville had three grocery stores, drug stores, a dry goods store, a hardware store, a lumber yard, a meat market, and two blacksmith shops.

By 1910 Danville was a Santa Fe railroad station town of about 200 people with a bank, a mill, and telegraph and express offices.

Danville has shrunk dramatically since then: the 2010 census counted 38 people, and the 2020 census count put the city at just 29 residents.

Danville covers only about 0.08 square miles, making it one of Harper County's smallest incorporated places by both land area and population.