Working Lands Success Stories

Rayburn Farm
in Perquimans County

Walker and Marjorie Rayburn wanted to protect their family farm from the intense threat of development and ensure that this land would remain viable, productive farmland in perpetuity. This beautiful farm, located on Yeopim and Barrows Creeks which feed into the Perquimans River, has been in the Rayburn family for generations. Immediately to the south, the newly protected farm is neighbored by the large waterfront residential and golf course development, Albemarle Plantation. By working with North Carolina Coastal Land Trust to place a Conservation Easement or permanent land protection agreement on more than 170 acres, the Rayburns accomplished both of these objectives. Thanks to the Rayburns’ foresight, careful planning and excellent land management skills, their family farm will truly remain a “family farm” for generations to come!

Gilliam Farm
in Rowan County

Ezra and Marian Gilliam placed a conservation easement on their 75-acre farm in eastern Rowan County. The tract is prime farmland or soils of statewide importance; and, for 2/10th of a mile, the property borders an unnamed tributary of High Rock Lake on the Yadkin River. The property is adjacent to Alcoa lands. “The conservation easement is protecting a piece of prime farmland, but it is also protecting a way of life that is disappearing, the small family farm,” says Michele d’Hemecourt, Land Protection Specialist with The LandTrust for Central North Carolina. “This farm and the Gilliam family’s philosophy are an example of how the farm can be kept together through generations, and how a piece of land can sustain a family. I hope their story inspires others as much as it has inspired me.”

Sample Farm
in Pasquotank County

Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Sample are committed to conserving their farming heritage and have now achieved their objective. In a three-phase conservation project that the Coastal Land Trust and the Samples started in 2001, the Sample family has protected over 526 acres of valuable and productive agricultural land. Their farmland is located northwest of Elizabeth City in northern Pasquotank County and lies within five miles of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The land protection agreement will forever maintain the rural and open space character of this farm land by restricting its current and future uses to agricultural and silvicultural (timbering) purposes. Mrs. Sample explained, “We are delighted to have permanently conserved our farm land for forever and a day.”