the original plan of the town called for ten blocks, which form the core of culpeper's downtown area today. the original town was surveyed by a young george washington. in 1795, the town received a post office under the name "culpeper court house" most maps of the time, however, continued to show the fairfax name. the confusion resulting from the difference in official and postal names was finally resolved when the virginia assembly formally renamed the town culpeper in 1869 (acts, 1869–1870, chapter 118, page 154).