Robert Walter Scott, Sr. was born in Alamance County, North Carolina, on July 24, 1861. A lifelong advocate of agricultural progress, Scott served as a legislator representing Alamance in the General Assembly (1889-1891 and 1903 in the state house and 1901 and 1929 in the state senate) and as a member of the State Board of Agriculture (1901-1929). He died in Alamance County on May 16, 1929.