Mr. Robert W. Baylor, Jr.

Bob Baylor has lived in Essex County all his life.

He was born in 1954 and lived at Port Tobacco Farm in Upper Essex, until he was five or six years old, with his parents Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Baylor, Sr. and his two sisters, Jane Waring and Peggy.  The family then moved to Edenetta, where he continued to live until 1984.    Bob then returned to Port Tobacco Farm, where he now lives with his wife Jeannette and their son Waring.

Bob has been a farmer all his life, as his father was before him.    “For as far back as anyone can remember the land my sisters and I own has been in our family”. Bob’s wife, Jeannette was able to find out, with a bit of help from Agnes Andrews and the old deed book housed in the Clerks Office at the Essex County Courthouse, that the “Port Tobacco Farm” tract has been in his family since 1668.

The love of the land, the pastoral beauty of it, the wildlife, the Rappahannock River, the natural resources as well as the sense of history and responsibility as good stewards of the land they own is what initially caused Bob Baylor and his sisters (Jane Waring Baylor Moore and Peggy Baylor Sturt) to consider conservation easements, as a way of preserving their family lands. This thought process started over 10 years ago and is now in the process of becoming a long awaited reality. Currently, they are in the process of negotiating and finalizing various details and customizing the easement language to suit their current and long term desires for the property.   The easement holders on the 1,800 acre tract of land that encompasses Port Tobacco Farm will be The Nature Conservancy and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

When Bob Baylor and his sisters first began checking into placing the farm in a conservation easement it was much more complicated and there were not as many tax advantages or other value added benefits as there are today.   They knew they wanted to do it at some point and “would still do it today, even if there were fewer benefits”.    It was for the peace of mind, “Knowing that the land would be protected forever from development and remain as it is today and as we have known it all our lives” that Bob and his sisters made the decisions that they have made.

Bob became Vice-President of the Essex County Countryside Alliance, in 2006, when he was approached by Peter Bance, who was interested in forming the ECCA.    Bob thought it was a great idea and is an avid spokesman for the Alliance as well as promoting conservation easements to those who seek out his advice.  He is honest to those who ask, giving both the up and the down side of the process. Bob says that when he and his sisters first started thinking about conservation easements, there was very little information available.    “The Essex County Countryside Alliance provides accurate and valuable information as well as a starting point to Essex landowners who wish to preserve their land for future generations.”   For this and numerous other reasons, Bob feels it is important for him to be part of the Essex County Countryside Alliance.  “Sometimes the best resource for a farm landowner is another farmer who has been through the process.”