[2] Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area.

In 1608, the first European to explore in the vicinity, Captain John Smith, reported that the Whonkentia (a subgroup of the Siouan-speaking Manahoac tribe) inhabited the area.

[4] The Six Nations ceded the entire region including modern Fauquier to Virginia Colony at the Treaty of Albany, in 1722.

It is named for Francis Fauquier,[5] Lieutenant Governor of Virginia at the time, who won the land in a poker game, according to legend.

[6] Fauquier county is not densely populated, but exurban development from Washington, DC has sprung up in some parts.

The subdivisions of Brookside and Vint Hill have facilitated the growth in the eastern part of the county.

[20][21] Since 1952, Fauquier County has voted for the Republican Party in all but one presidential election.