Founded before 1840 as a trade center in a rich plantation area, Danville became home to many prominent families with Texas beginnings. At its peak, the town had 15 businesses, several churches, and good schools, but after refusing right-of-way to the Houston & Great Northern Railway in the 1870s, it lost its people and commerce to the new railroad town of Willis. All that remains of the once-thriving town is Sheperd Hill Cemetery. Danville is also remembered as the home of Jonathan Lindley, who died defending the cause of Texas at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.