The earliest recorded claim to the land was made by the Doeg. Later the Lee family of Virginia owned the land from 1725 to 1839. Richard Bland Lee did not build the main house until 1794. Following the purchase by William Swartwort in 1838, Sully was used as a home, a working farm, or both by a series of private owners. Then in 1958, Sully was acquired by the federal government as a part of the area to be used for the construction of Dulles Airport. Today the Fairfax County Park Authority operates the site with a specific focus on the Lee family.
