Another early influence on George Washington was the powerful Fairfax family of neighboring Belvoir, who introduced him to the accomplishments and proprieties of mannered wealth and provided him his first adventure. In 1748, Lord Fairfax sent George with a party that spent a month surveying Fairfax lands in the still-wild Shenandoah Valley. It was on this expedition that George began to appreciate the uses and value of land, an appreciation that grew the following year with his appointment as Culpeper County surveyor, certified by the College of William & Mary.