|
Purcellville, Virginia History
Purcellville
web site [leave this site]»
Nichols
Hardware Store »
Purcellville's Orchard Grass Seed Mill »
How
Purcellville became a town »
 |
|
1908 map of Purcellville, VA
|
Although the first land grant in the area was issued by Lord Fairfax
in 1740 it was not until 1764 that Purcellville's first known settler,
James Dillon from Buck's County, Pennsylvania, arrived.1
As might be expected, it would take a road to make a town; the early
ox cart track which wound westward from Leesburg, known later as the
"Great Road," serve the purpose. The first recorded business,
an ordinary (a combined store and inn), was established by Abraham
Vickers
in 1799. This was followed by a second ordinary, established by Stacey
Taylor in 1804, and later by "Purcel's Store" and Post Office,
Established by Valentine Vernon Purcell (from whom the Town's name
is derived). A blacksmith's shop, established around 1848, was also
among the Town's earliest businesses. The Town's first public school
was built in 1883. On July 9, 1853 the village officially adopted
the name Purcellville
and on March 14, 1908 the Town was incorporated by an act of the General
Assembly.
 |
|
Purcellville's Main Street in early 1900s.
The right center building is now the White Palace Restaurant.
|
The Great Road became an authorized turnpike in 1785 and extended
the turnpike system westward from Alexandria to Snicker's Gap, and
beyond
to Berryville and Winchester.2 With the
construction of this Turnpike in 1832, travel through Purcellville
began
to increase--the first stagecoach arrived in 1841. A railroad link
was built to Leesburg prior to the Civil War, and travel to points
further
west were continued by stagecoach through Purcellville. When the railroad
was extended to Purcellville in 1874, The Town took Leesburg's place
as the beginning of the stage route until the railroad was extended
to Round Hill in 1875. (This railroad ceases operation in 1968.)
Although there were several marches and chases through Purcellville
during the Civil War, the town sustained no major damage. However, a
series of disastrous fires, the first in 1900 and then two more in 1914,
virtually wiped out the business district, depriving the Town of much
of its earliest architectural heritage. Despite the fires, many of the
old blocks have been rebuilt and the business district has been extended
considerably.
From its very beginning, the Town's dependence upon transportation
links to the more populous eastern sections of Northern Virginia has
remained strong, and is now more important than ever. Since the Virginia
Department of Transportation has widened Route 7 and extended the
Toll
Road to western Loudoun County, all within the past five years, Purcellville's
moderate growth during this period should not be seen as indicative
of its future growth. Furthermore, Purcellville's traditional dependence
upon agriculture as its primary source of income has diminished as
more
and more residents are employed outside of the community. The challenge
is to accept this change without the Town losing its historic identity
and those everyday, small town amenities which have developed over
its long history.
1 Town history is summarized from The
Story of Purcellville by Eugene M. Scheel, reprinted in
Commemoration of its 75th anniversary 1908-1983.
2 Historic Roads of Virginia, Nathaniel
Mason Pawlett, Virginia Highway Research Council, 1977.
| About | Site
index | 
purcellville, va, history, virginia, purcellville va, historic towns, purceville, loudoun county, civil war towns, purceville va
|
|
