Local city information for Danville, CA

The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that uses "town" in its name instead of "city". The population was 41,715 in 2008. Danville is an upscale suburb of Oakland and San Francisco.

Danville is one of the wealthiest suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area, with some of the most expensive and exclusive country clubs and houses in the country. It still preserves the characteristics of a town, being compact, largely self-sufficient as far as shopping goes, and having only a couple of commercial centers. Its downtown is noted for its somewhat rustic charm, intensively upgraded owing to its now extremely affluent demographics and its popularity as a regional destination for dining and light shopping. With heavy restrictions on large development, the downtown consists of many small shops on several traditional-styled plazas. It does not have its own hospital, being well-served by nearby regional medical centers including John Muir Hospital, San Ramon Regional Medical Center, and Kaiser Permanente. With the exception of a Costco location near its boundary with San Ramon, it does not host the "heavy shopping" provided by shopping malls located in nearby cities to the north or south. Danville's main street is Hartz Avenue in downtown Danville.

The city is home to numerous businesses including the headquarters of Advanta Energy Corp, an energy consulting firm as well as all major realtors, banks and investment firms.

Every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Danville hosts a farmer's market, where merchants gather under makeshift tents and umbrellas to sell a wide variety of goods. One can buy all sorts of fresh goods from the market, from freshly grown fruits and vegetables, to kettle corn, to baking goods, to flowers, to drinks, to olive oil, to the services of a musician who usually entertains people passing by. The market can be found on a weekly basis next to the San Ramon Valley Museum.

The Iron Horse Regional Trail runs through Danville. It was first a rail road that is now converted to a wide corridor of bike and hike trails as well as controlled intersections. Extending from Dublin to Concord, the trail passes through Danville. Walkers, bikers, skaters, and joggers usually find the Trail a source of outdoor recreation and exercise. Furthermore, the Trail is relatively isolated from the heavy traffic on the main roads; so it's a safe path to travel on. The trail is also close to all the major bookstores, shops, cafes and restaurants in Danville, so those who are doing a long trip often stop in Danville to eat or drink.

The Danville Library hosts a number of community events, such as the annual Halloween activities for kids and book sales. The Museum of the San Ramon Valley is located in downtown Danville and hosts regional history exhibits and traveling shows in the converted railroad station adjacent to the Iron Horse Trail.

Danville is home to two main public high schools: Monte Vista High School and San Ramon Valley High School, which both share a longstanding cross-town rivalry. There is a continuation high school called Del Amigo, which is stationed next to San Ramon Valley High. It is also home to the private and exclusive Athenian School, a college preparatory school for grades 6-12 that is nestled in the foothills of Mount Diablo State Park.

There is also a town theater called "The Village Theater," where productions of mostly Broadway shows are produced. But also, kids younger than eight can put on fun plays during all of the seasons.

Danville is named, in part, after Daniel Inman, who bought 400 acres (1.6 km²) there in 1854 with his brother Andrew, using their Gold Rush earnings. They rejected the name "Inmanville" and settled on Danville. However, "According to the modest Dan, the name was chosen as much or more out of respect for Andrew's mother-in-law, who was born and raised near Danville, Ky.," says one historical account. It was initially a farming community, switching from wheat to fruits and nuts after the Southern Pacific Railroad built a spur line through the area in 1891. It developed as a residential suburb starting in 1947 when the first sizable housing tracts were constructed and its population boomed in the 1970s and 1980s.

A post office opened in 1860.

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