Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

Preferred Citation

Plain, Persevering People of Purcellville, Virginia(SC 0123), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Unknown, Formerly catalogued V REF 975.528

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2016.0094x

Processing Information

Processed by Caroline Kessler, 23 August 2016

Historical Information

In 1962-3, Helen Hirst Marsh (1903-1976) honored 110 years of Purcellville history by assembling its past records from J. V. Nichols's "Loudoun Valley Legends" and local newspaper articles dating back to the 1860s. Marsh was a member of the local school board.

On 9 July 1852, Purcell's Store Post Office was renamed Purcellville, and from this source the town draws its name. Valentine V. Purcell (1706-1876) began the business and served as postmaster from 28 January 1822. In its early history, Purcellville experienced quiet rural life, and the town consisted of a store, a blacksmith, and a tavern that served the few surrounding farms.

Relatively isolated, the town experienced growth and modernization after the Civil War with the establishment of a coach line in 1867 that connected Purcellville to Leesburg. By 1874, the town had its own railroad station and a working mill. The population remained around 200 persons in 1900 but generated enough business to establish the first bank in western Loudoun County, the Purcellville National Bank which survived to the time of Marsh's history. In 1908 the growing community of 53 homes and 13 businesses was officially incorporated into the "Town of Purcellville." According to the 1950 census, the town supported a population of almost 950 people.

Scope and Content

The collection contains a typed copy of Helen Hirst Marsh's history of Purcellville, titled "Plain, Persevering People of Purcellville, Virginia." The document was compiled in 1963 and has footnotes and three appendices: "Recollections of R. Chamblin Steele," an account of a 1911 fire, and a list of registered white voters from South Purcellville in 1902. Also included are short biographies of "Local Personalities"; histories of Purcellville's "Exedra" estate and local temperance meetings; s railroad history; excerpts from newspaper articles and a list of Purcellville mayors from 1908-1974. Page 2 of Marsh's history is missing.

Related Material

Register of White Voters at Purcellville Precinct, Mt. Gilead District, Loudoun County, Virginia, 1902-1921(OM 0031), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA; Legends of Loudoun: An Account of the History and Homes of a Border County of Virginia's Northern Neck, VREF 975.528 WIL; Purcell Family Genealogical Association, and Purcell Family of America. 1978. The Purcell Family of America Genealogical Association.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Ancestry, www.ancestrylibrary.com, accessed 23 August 2016.

Plain, Persevering People of Purcellville, Virginia (SC 0123), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

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Other Finding Aid

Index available electronically

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Technical Requirements

None