Purley, North Carolina
Purley is an unincorporated community in Caswell County, North Carolina, United States, which, along with the communities of Blanche and Providence, makes up Dan River Township. On a farm in this area, a process for curing brightleaf tobacco was discovered by a slave in 1839 and improved in the 1850s. Tradition relates that the name "Purley" came from the Samuel Satterwhite Harrison House that sat on a hill and was painted a "pearly white" when such a paint scheme was a novelty. This resulted in much comment, and the area eventually was named "Purley." Another community landmark is the Purley Store, operated by the Pleasant family for over fifty years.