Danville Area Community College was originally established in 1946 as an extension of the University of Illinois, in order to serve the large number of troops returning from World War II. The college was originally housed at Danville High School. In 1965, the college moved to 2000 East Main Street in Danville, occupying several buildings of the former Old_soldiers'_home on a 75 acre (304,000 m²) campus.

Since then, several buildings have been added, and existing ones have been renovated. New buildings include the Mary Miller complex, an ornamental horticulture building, technology center, and child development center.

In 2002, DACC opened the Downtown Education Center in the heart of downtown Danville in order to facilitate the growing demand for career-prepartory classes.