Virginia. Northern Neck Land Office.

The Northern Neck Land Office controlled 5,282,000 acres in land grants located between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, which were given to seven loyal supporters of King Charles II. Agents of the Northern Neck Proprietary issued the first land grant in 1690.

To obtain land in the Northern Neck persons purchased warrants which specified the exact location of the land desired. A warrant was taken to a surveyor, and the land desired was surveyed. The plat and any accompanying papers were returned to the proprietor's office from which, if no discrepancy existed and no conflicting claim was presented, a grant was issued. The survey was filed and the grant recorded before delivery. Unlike the colonial Land Office, the Northern Neck Land Office did not annually destroy plats.

The Proprietary operated until the death of Lord Fairfax in 1781. For the next thirty years, however, the ownership was in dispute. Fairfax family interest was terminated in 1808 when the last surviving heir sold his title to his remaining manor to a syndicate.