Culpeper County administrative offices are located at 302 North Main Street, Culpeper, VA 22701; phone: 540‑727‑3427.
TOWNS
Beginnings [1]
In 1649, King Charles II granted 5.28 million acres of land to seven proprietors. One of these grants, 629,120 acres known as the Northern Neck Proprietary, contained what was to become Culpeper County. In 1735 Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, became the first owner of the Northern Neck Proprietary to set foot on his property. In 1749, the Virginia General Assembly created Culpeper County. The name Culpeper, surname of Lord Fairfax's mother, was chosen because Fairfax County already existed.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Culpeper County was still on the nation's frontier, considered backwoods by the residents of urban eastern Virginia. Culpeper's famed Minute Men were first formed in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, the Minute Men fought in several battles, including the Battle of Great Bridge, the first Revolutionary battle on Virginia soil.
Culpeper County continued to grow during the period following the Revolutionary War. Towns, among them Jeffersonton and Stevensburg, were created by the Virginia General Assembly. The County seat was officially known as Fairfax, but was commonly called Culpeper Court House. Tobacco, which had been the primary agricultural crop and which also served as the primary medium of exchange, was slowly replaced in the fields by corn and wheat.