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 officially adopted the name Purcellville. The Great Road became an authorized turnpike in 1785 and extended the turnpike system westward from Alexandria to
Snickers Gap, and beyond to
Berryville and
Winchester. With the construction of this Turnpike in 1832, travel through Purcellville began to increase and the first stagecoach arrived in 1841. A railroad link on the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire line (forerunner to the
Washington and Old Dominion Railroad) connecting the town to Leesburg and points east was built prior to the Civil War, and travel to points further west were continued by stagecoach through Purcellville. Although both Union and Confederate armies passed through Purcellville during the Civil War, the town witnessed limited fighting with the most notable action occurring at the skirmish of
Heaton's Crossroads. The town and surrounding area were contained within the area known as Mosby's Confederacy, the main area of operations for Confederate
partisan John S. Mosby, and the town was pillaged as part of
The Burning Raid of 1864 in retribution for the area's support of Mosby's command. 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. The
Southern Railway constructed the still existing
Purcellville Train Station in 1891. The railroad ceased operation in 1968. Its right-of-way serves as the
Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park, which has its western terminus at the station. The first public school was built in 1883. On March 14, 1908, the town was incorporated by an act of Virginia's General Assembly. ==Geography==