 The church is in the Mill Creek valley . As tensions with Native Americans were beginning to ease , Lord Fairfax sought to entice white settlers to the sparsely settled lands of his Northern Neck Proprietary . The valley was one of the first parts of present @-@ day Hampshire County to be settled by whites , beginning in the mid @-@ 18th century . Settlers were drawn by the valley 's fertility . As the valley 's population grew , the unincorporated community of Purgitsville developed along Mill Creek as a trading post village ; it was named for Henry <unk> ( or <unk> ) , who acquired 400 acres ( 160 ha ) in the Mill Creek valley on January 7 , 1785 , and received a further land transfer of 137 acres ( 55 ha ) in 1794 . Purgitsville continued to develop throughout the course of the 19th century , during which time it grew to include a small store , a post office , and a blacksmith shop . 
