Purcellville Train Station
Why it's listed
Built in 1904 by the Southern Railway, this board-and-batten depot in Purcellville, Virginia, served as both passenger station and freight house. The rectangular frame building measures 18 by 86 feet and has deep eaves on triangular knee braces, a standing-seam metal roof and a projecting bay in the ticket office. Its original plan placed separate white and colored waiting rooms on either side of a central ticket office, with a large freight room at the west end. Passenger service ended in 1951 and freight service in 1967 or 1968, after which a seed mill used the building for storage. A local preservation association bought it in the early 1990s and restored it in the late 1990s with federal transportation funds. The Town of Purcellville now owns it and uses it as a museum, meeting space and trail restrooms. It is regarded as the largest surviving station in Loudoun County and recalls the area's farm shipping and rail travel.
Significance in brief: The station is cited as a tangible reminder of Purcellville's role as a commercial and social hub and a shipping point for regional farm products, qualifying under Criterion A for transportation. It also qualifies under Criterion C as the largest surviving train station in Loudoun County, typical of Southern Railway depot design, and it retains much of its original plan and fabric.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10000307, listed May 28, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 200 N 21st St, Purcellville |
|---|---|
| County | Loudoun County |
| Listed | May 28, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000307 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1904-1960 |
| Architectural style | Other: Vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored in the late 1990s after sitting vacant; now town-owned and used as a meeting facility, museum and public restrooms for the W&OD Trail. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Within district | Goose Creek Historic District |
| Coordinates | 39.14015, -77.71559 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10000307.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713107
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.