A 297-acre property located in Rectortown, Northern Fauquier County, is now forever preserved through the donation of a conservation easement to the Land Trust of Virginia.

The farm fronts on Atoka Road, a Virginia Byway, and is also part of the Cromwell’s Run Rural Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

“This is an exciting and important easement. The beauty of the property is not lost on people who drive or bicycle past and ride through this farm,” said Land Trust of Virginia Executive Director Leslie VanSant.

The property’s conservation values noted in the easement include:

· 285 acres of important farmland soils
· 7.6 acres of National Wetlands Inventory wetlands
· 77 acres of forest
· 930 feet of frontage on Atoka Road, a Virginia Byway
· It is adjacent to four other eased properties

Recently the property has been farmed in corn or soybeans. The current owners intend to continue farming operations, returning part of the property to hay production, and to preserve the contributing historic structures. In the northwestern corner of the Orange County Hunt territory, the easement also includes an allowance for foxhunting and sport.