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White's Ferry
Before you is the last operating ferry on the Potomac River. Early settlers recognized these relatively still waters would provide an ideal location for a ferry. The first known ferry operation here was Conrad's Ferry in 1817. After the Civil War, former Confederate soldier Elijah White purchased and made many improvements to the service. He named his ferry boat in honor of his former commander General Jubal Early.
More than a convenient river crossing, the ferry provided a place of commerce between the canal and surrounding community. Farmers from Virginia used the ferry to get their crops to market in Washington, D.C., and Maryland via the C&O Canal. In the days before modern refrigeration, a farmer's access to reliable transportation meant the difference between prosperity and watching a year's worth of work rot in storage. Together the canal and the ferry shortened the time it took farmers to get goods to market. Today White's Ferry continues to serve the needs of its community by providing a safe river crossing and a living link to the past.
To assist farmers in getting their crops to market, White built a granary along the canal to store grains until they could be loaded and shipped via the canal.
In the early 1900s as horse and wagon gave way to the Model T, White's Ferry adapted to the times. Ferryman Charles Ashby Williams leans over the ferry's railing to check its engine. |