White’s Ferry near Leesburg, Virginia ceases operations

The owners of White’s Ferry have ceased operations after a Loudoun Circuit Court ruling found there is no record documenting the establishment of a public landing on the Virginia shore.

The case was brought by the owners of Rockland Farm, where the landing and its access road have supported a ferry for more than two centuries. A lawsuit over the public access began in 2004 with the ruling coming in November as a result of a litigation filed in 2009.

White’s Ferry operators issued a press release as follows:

“White’s Ferry regrets to inform the public that it will cease its Potomac River ferry operation between White’s Ferry Road in Montgomery County, Maryland and White’s Ferry Road in Loudoun County, Virginia effective immediately. The Circuit Court of Loudoun County, Virginia has ruled, in the case of Rockland Farm, LLC, et al. v. White’s Ferry, Inc., that no public landing exists on the Virginia shoreline at White’s Ferry Road and the ferry is prohibited from landing at that location in Virginia. As of the date of this press release Loudoun County, Virginia has declined to establish a public landing at that location.”

Historic White’s Ferry is the last of about 100 ferries that used to operate on the Potomac River. It transports approximately 600 to 800 customers daily. The ferry operation began as Conrad’s Ferry--the ferry first authorized by an act of Maryland’s General Assembly in January, 1782 has changed over the years from a poled vessel to the 24-car boat carrier that traverses the river now. It connects Loudoun with Montgomery County via a 300-yard cable stretched across the river and located east of Route 15 a few miles north of Leesburg.

Following the Civil War, Confederate Colonel Elijah V. White purchased the ferry and named the ferry boat after Confederate Major General Jubal Anderson Early. A staunch Confederate defender of the Shenandoah Valley, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864, Early made daring raids to the very outskirts of Washington, D.C. and as far north as York, Pennsylvania. He was known to his men as “Old Jube.”

Herb Brown’s father, R. Edwin Brown, bought the ferry with some business partners in 1946. The first ferry run by the Browns was a segment of a pontoon bridge used in Washington during World War Two and carried three cars. In 1953, Brown’s father procured a new vessel, built in Baltimore. It carried eight cars and now sits on blocks outside of the general store at White’s Ferry. In 1988, the business was flourishing, the ferry’s owners bought a bigger vessel in Norfolk, Virginia. It was delivered in six sections and had space for 15 cars. A few years later, in 1996, Brown hired a welder to build an addition holding nine more cars. The car float tug is powered by a five-cylinder diesel engine and pushed by means of a tow line across the river.

The ferry experience brings you back to how travel must have been a century ago. The ferry costs $5 each trip or $8 round trip for cars, $3 for motorcycles, $2 per bike and $1 for pedestrians to cross the Potomac River. The ferry ride is pleasing and peaceful and one that delivers a richly historic dimension. It often has provided fond memories for many a family outing. Rumors claim the Ferry Captain has performed weddings during the crossing. The ferry trip only takes about 15 minutes, including the time to load and collect the tickets. The Maryland side has a park, deli/bait shop and boat rental and barbecue/picnic areas. Try the loaded Tuna Fish Sandwich at the deli. Folks say the ferry provides a way to get from one state to another in a few minutes for only a few bucks with quaint back country roads to escape from the awful traffic of the beltway.

It is often referred to as "Potomac's hidden gem." Traveling on White’s Ferry has not changed much in 70 years. There is no plan to change any aspect of the service the ferry operators have provided for the last seven decades. No modern upgrades are necessary to make the ferry any more safe or efficient since the design is so simplistic. It is a working piece of American history that you can participate in today.

The closest crossing upriver is the Route 15 Bridge at Point of Rocks in Frederick County, Maryland, 30 miles upstream from the American Legion Bridge. A number of studies have been conducted over the past three decades examining the merits of another bridge crossing. It isn’t clear where the bridge would be placed but it would likely extend the Intercounty Connector from Gaithersburg to Sterling, Virginia, close to Washington Dulles International Airport. However that is the subject of another story.