Loudoun County constitutes a part of the 5-million-acre Northern Neck of Virginia Proprietary granted by King Charles II of England to seven noblemen in 1649. This grant, later known as the Fairfax Proprietary, lay between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Between 1653 and 1730, Westmoreland, Stafford, and Prince William counties were formed within the Proprietary, and in 1742 the remaining land was designated Fairfax County. In 1757, by act of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Fairfax County
