1586: Englishman John White maps the lower region of the Potomac River.
1606: King James I charters the Virginia Company, which allows for settlement of the colony.
1608: June 16: Capt. John Smith begins exploration of the Potomac River, naming it for the Potowomek Indian village.
1619: June 30: The Virginia Assembly, the first elected legislative body in the Americas, meets for the first time.
1624: May 24: King James I revokes the charter of the Virginia Company.
1641-1647: John Campbell, the first Earl of Loudoun, serves as Scottish Chancellor.
1649: King Charles II grants approximately 5 million acres to settlers in Northern Virginia, carving the land into Fairfax, Prince William, Westmoreland and Stafford counties.
1660: May: King Charles II is restored to the British throne.
1699: April: A Virginia delegation visits the Piscataways on Conoy Island, crossing through Broad Run.
1709: Daniel McCarty patents an area near Sugarland Island on the Potomac.
1711: June: Thomas Lee is appointed Virginia agent for the Fairfax Proprietary.
1717: Thomas Lee patents thousands of acres along Goose Creek.
1733: Amos Janney settles Janney's Mill, now Waterford on Kitoctin Creek.
1742: Fairfax County, including present Loudoun, is formed.
1745: Sept. 20: At the Battle of Prestonpans, the first significant battle of the second Jacobite Rising, John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun, loses his regiment.
1749: Sept. 4: Thomas Lee become acting governor of Virginia.
1750: Nov. 14: Thomas Lee dies while in office.
1756: March 8: Lord Loudoun is named British military commander in chief for the American colonies and the new governor of Virginia. He would serve as governor in name only until 1768.
1756: June 8: Virginia's Fort Loudoun is built in Winchester.
1756: July 23: Lord Loudoun arrives in the Americas, in New York City, and assumes his positions in the colonies.
1757: By act of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Fairfax County is divided. The western portion is named Loudoun for John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun.
1757: July 12: The first Loudoun County Court convenes and begins the organization of the new county government.