Commonwealth Preservation Group

Hylton Hall, Danville, VA

Hylton Hall, Danville, VA | Textile School

Hylton Hall, Danville, VA | Textile School

Hylton Hall is a large, six-story Classical Revival building constructed in 1918 and designed by the firm of Heard, Cardwell & Craighill. It served as a hotel-style dormitory for single female workers of The Riverside & Dan River Cotton Mills, Incorporated (Dan River Mills) which began in 1882 and was one of the largest cotton mills in the country by the early twentieth century. Hylton Hall continued as a residential facility until 1948 when it was converted to offices. The interior and exterior are intact and retain most of their original appearance and character. There is also a c1928 one-story shop building on the site which was formerly used by the occupants of Hylton Hall.

Hylton Hall, Danville, VA

Hylton Hall, Danville, VA

The building served as a dormitory, dining facility, social hall, and recreation center—this fit well into the new concept of factory management which mill president H.R. Fitzgerald wanted to bring to Dan River Mills: Industrial Democracy. The building is closely associated with mill related welfare projects in Danville in the first quarter of the twentieth century and is indicative of the approach to housing and workforce development during the era that the building operated as a dormitory.

Hylton Hall was found significant under Criterion A (Social History) and Criterion C (Architecture). The building is representative of architect-designed Classical Revival style and one of only a few large scale examples of this style in the area.

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