The land that is now Seven Bends State Park formed part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a grant of more than 5 million acres between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers created as a political payoff to allies of the exiled King Charles II of England during the climax of the second English Civil War. Over time the entire parcel came into the hands of Sir Thomas Culpepper and his cousin Alexander Culpepper, neither of whom ever visited it. After their deaths, Sir Thomas's widow and daughter, Margaret and Catherine, inherited the land, and it passed into the Fairfax family when Catherine married Thomas, 5th Lord Fairfax. Their son Thomas 6th inherited his grandmother's portion of the grant, but when Thomas 5th died, his son was only 12, and Catherine, unhappy with her husband's management and distrustful of her son's ability, controlled the estate for 20 years. Lord Fairfax 5th had hired Robert Carter as agent, and Carter patented so much land to himself and his family that he became known as "King" Carter, the richest man in Virginia. After Catherine's death, Thomas 6th became sole owner and, when Carter died, was stunned by the wealth the Carter family had generated from Fairfax land. Around 1733 he hired his cousin William Fairfax to survey the property, and after a decade of multiple surveys, lawsuits, and debate, the boundaries were decided. Lord Fairfax eventually settled not far from here and lived out his days at Greenway Court.