Site 44PY181
Site 44PY181 is concentrated in the backyards of two residences on Front Street North, Lots 48 and 49, and the northeastern corner of the property currently owned by The Salvation Army, Lot 47. This area originally lay within the portion of Ann M. Keen’s North Danville property conveyed to Thomas J. Lee and others in 1880, which was then purchased by T. B. Fitzgerald for later conveyance to Riverside Cotton Mills, Inc. Sanborn maps show that the existing corner house, which is identical to its counterpart on the corner of North Main Street and Front Street South, was present by 1894, and in 1895 was remapped and organized into a single lot containing five houses, mirroring the lot situated on South Front Street in appearance and value (CD LBNS 1895–1900:24; Sanborn 1894). By 1899, both structures’ layouts had taken on their current floor plan, identical to those across the street. It is also at this time that a small, rectangular one-story dwelling first appears to the north of these lots (Sanborn 1899).
Through the 1910s and 1920s, property assessments for this lot remained identical to its counterpart on Front Street South, echoing the same periods of prosperity following World Wars I and II and decline during the 1930s (CD LBNS 1916–1920:34, 1931–1934, 1935–1938, 1939–1942). During the “lean years” (1932–1939), average annual net earnings dropped to half their pre-Depression levels, forcing numerous cutbacks and layoffs as the company struggled to stay solvent (Smith 1960:328–329; Wuellner et al. 1993:23). During World War II, some semblance of economic stability returned to Dan River Mills, Inc., stimulated by government contracts (Smith 1960:434).
Despite the relative prosperity the company enjoyed during the 1940s, it was apparently not enough to offset the rising costs of modernizing and maintaining their company housing. Beginning in the fall of 1949, the Front Street North lot and its dwellings were remapped and organized into five individual lots, each with its own home, designated part of Dan River Mills Subdivision No. 8 (CD DB 237:44). Land book assessments from 1949 reflect this reconfiguration, with lot and building values reduced to $2.20 and $12.00, respectively (CD LBNS 1948–1949:52–54). Sanborn maps produced prior to the sale of these lots also show that the small, one-story rectangular dwelling behind this lot had been torn down and the lot left open. Contained within 44PY181 were Lots 48, 49, and a portion of 47.
