Some members of a historical Danville family say they were surprised to hear Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr. say his administration is considering possibly renaming Lynch Road. The Mayor said during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that he first wanted to do more research into why it is called Lynch Road. But the Mayor said multiple leaders and citizens had recommended to him that the name Lynch Road and Lynch Spur be changed…..
{”You come into town and that’s the first thing you see. And then, as we know, sadly the word Lynch doesn’t have many good things associated with it,” said Mayor Williams. ”In fact, it has a history of fear, retaliation and hate for a lot of folks. And so I first want to understand the history — why its called that. But I just want you to know the Administration is looking into that issue,” added the Mayor.}
Monica Bolton, who says she is a proud granddaughter of Rose Lynch and other relatives in the area, notes the Lynch family settled in the the Illinois-Indiana area in the 1800s where Lynch Road is located. Bolton says Lynch was a prominent name on both the Illinois and Indiana side of the border. She noted the family started Lynch School in the 1800s, Pleasant Grove Church and a cemetery. And she added, ‘’It’s just a name – an old name.’’
Another member of the family, Dorothy Engelman (whose maiden name was Lynch) was also surprised that possibly changing the name of Lynch Road is even being considered. ‘’It’s not what I would consider a racist name,’’ said Engelman. ‘’It’s just a name – a family name,’’ she told VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
The Lynch Area Fire Protection District was named after the family.
