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BHistory
History · Purcellville

Purcellville’s post office opened in 1851, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #69 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Purcellville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 490 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 1880.

1851first post office
6on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Purcellville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Purcellville began

When was Purcellville founded?

1851

The Purcellville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1908. Two smaller post offices, Purcell's Store (1822) and Wood Grove (1827), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 98 in 18802020 census: 8,929175 years

How historic is Purcellville?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Purcellville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1908.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Purcellville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Purcellville is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #69 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Purcellville’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register6 listings, 498 historic buildings, 555 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 73%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Purcellville’s 555 sits above most of its state (90% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 498 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1908.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Purcellville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Purcellville Historic District takes in 490 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Purcellville.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 498 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
498
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Rich Bottom Farm
Rich Bottom FarmLocust GrovePurcellville Historic DistrictPurcellville Train StationThe Tabernacle-Fireman's FieldAmos-Goodin House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Vernacular2
Greek Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Rich Bottom FarmFederal
Locust GroveFederal
Purcellville Historic DistrictColonial Revival
Purcellville Train StationVernacular
The Tabernacle-Fireman's FieldVernacular
Amos-Goodin HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Purcellville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Purcellville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Vi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Purcellville’s post office has been open since 1851. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Purcell's Store
1822–1851
Wood Grove
1827–1835
Purcellville
1851–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
George Washington Carver Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Purcellville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Purcellville.

Read it all →

Although the first land grant in the area was issued by Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1740, it was not until 1764 that Purcellville's first known settler, James Dillon from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, arrived. The early ox cart track which wound westward from Leesburg towards the Blue Ridge, known later as the "Great Road," served as the town's nucleus, although farms existed in the area, and Ketoctin Baptist Church had been founded nearby by 1752. 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 Purcellville's earliest businesses. On July 9, 1853, the village offic…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Purcellville, 1822 to 1955

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Post officeThe Purcell's Store post office opens
  3. 1827Post officeThe Wood Grove post office opens
  4. 1835Post officeThe Wood Grove post office closes
  5. 1851Post officeThe Purcell's Store post office closes
  6. 1851Post officeThe Purcellville post office opens
  7. 1872Born hereReuben C. Baker is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1937In the archiveUncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Virginia. Carpenter and country fiddler
  10. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1955Born hereHenry Cole is born here
By decade

Purcellville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Uncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Virginia. Carpenter and country fiddler1937Uncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Virginia. Carpen…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
PvilleDate?Pville
Today19 recent
2019-08-22 10 23 04 A chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing mixed with chocolate chips in20192019-08-22 10 23 04 A chocolate cupcake with chocolat…2019-08-22 10 22 59 A chocolate chip cookie in20192019-08-22 10 22 59 A chocolate chip cookie in2018-08-23 12 56 02 Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad Number 14 in20182018-08-23 12 56 02 Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squ…BROWN-OERNER HOUSE2016BROWN-OERNER HOUSEThe Solar Array at Catoctin Creek Distillery2013The Solar Array at Catoctin Creek DistilleryThe Case Building Memorial Plaque2013The Case Building Memorial PlaquePurcellville VA train station2013Purcellville VA train stationThe Acoustic Burgoo Purcellville VA January 20122012The Acoustic Burgoo Purcellville VA January 2012Jake and the Burtones Market Street Coffee Purcellville VA March 20122012Jake and the Burtones Market Street Coffee Purcellvil…Burgoo Hotseats Purcellville, Virginia January 20122012Burgoo Hotseats Purcellville, Virginia January 2012The Acoustic Burgoo Harvest Haze Purcellville VA August 20102010The Acoustic Burgoo Harvest Haze Purcellville VA Augu…Double-bassist The Acoustic Burgoo Harvest Haze Purcellville VA August 20102010Double-bassist The Acoustic Burgoo Harvest Haze Purce…Untitled photo2010Untitled photoUntitled photo2010Untitled photoStephen Mace2009Stephen MacePurcellville-VA-Train-Station2008Purcellville-VA-Train-StationArgiope aurantia scohar702008Argiope aurantia scohar70Praying Mantis2007Praying MantisVAMap-doton-Purcellville2005VAMap-doton-Purcellville
On the map

Purcellville on the map, 1944 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Purcellville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Purcellville on the 1944 USGS mapPurcellville on the 1953 USGS mapPurcellville on the 1970 USGS mapPurcellville on the 1984 USGS map1944Purcellville sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Purcellville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Uncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Virginia. Carpenter and country fiddler
Retake this viewUncle Buck Moreland of Purcellville, Virginia. Carpenter and country fiddler, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Purcellville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Purcellville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020208,929

Grew from 98 people in 1880 to 8,929 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Purcellville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Purcellville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Reuben C. BakerOil industry tool pioneer · b. 1872
H
Henry ColeAmerican author and illustrator of children's b… · b. 1955

Questions about Purcellville’s history

What year was Purcellville founded?

The Purcellville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1908.

How does Purcellville rank for history?

Purcellville is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #69 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Purcellville?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Rich Bottom Farm (listed 1997, the first), and 1 historic district, the Purcellville Historic District, with 490 contributing buildings. 498 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Purcellville?

7% of Purcellville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2000.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (20), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.