Thanks for asking Sandra. My family of four toured Purcellville with an older cousin in 1996. While the town was officially incorporated in 1908 (date of my Father's birth), it was named in honor of a distant g-g-g-g-g-uncle named: Valentine Vernon Purcell. He was the postmaster and storekeeper who established it in 1822. In 1852 the post office name was changed to Purcellville. According to a brochure from the Purcellville Preservation Association (founded 1985) (membership: 703-338-5380 or 338-5445)... Purcellville grew into a bustling village with the coming of the Washington & Ohio RR (later Washington & Old Dominion) in 1874, and within three decades the village's commerce surpassed that of neighboring Hamilton and Round Hill. Purcellville was now the trading center of the Loudoun Valley, a rich patchwork of farms lying between the Catoctin Mountains and Blue Ridge. Virginia's General Assembly incorporated the town in 1908. Two disastrous fires in 1914 proved a long-term blessing, for loans from the local bank rebuilt the downtown in brick and block -- the downtown you see today. The area was originally inhabited by the Souix and Iroquois tribes in the 10,000 years prior to European settlers coming into the area in 1740. Sandy, if you would like a fax of the brochure, I'd be glad to send one to you. Let me know. Where do you live now? Kind regards, JF Purcell >From: "Sandy Read" <sandra.read@verizon.net> >To: <jfpurcell@hotmail.com> >Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] NJ to Loudoun, VA >Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 23:24:35 -0600 > > >The Purcell Family moved from Hunterdon County to Loudon >County VA. > >Out of curiosity ... Was the town of Purcellville in Loudoun named for this >family? Honestly don't remember the history of the town but graduated high >school there many, many years ago, > >Sandy >