New details are expected Friday morning about efforts to restore White’s Ferry service between Montgomery County, Maryland, and Loudoun County, Virginia — the ferry hasn’t crossed the Potomac River since December 2020 because of a land dispute. Related stories Protesters in Poolesville rally to reopen White’s Ferry 5 years after it closed ‘Last attempt’: Montgomery County makes $3M bid to break stalemate over White’s Ferry service White’s Ferry shut down in 2020. could bring back the Potomac River crossing As WTOP first reported Thursday, Chuck Kuhn, the owner of White’s Ferry, donated the historic vessel and its operations to Montgomery County, and the county purchased the land where the ferry docks on the Maryland side of the Potomac.
news conference, Kuhn, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, U.S. Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, along with state and local leaders, will officially announce details of the efforts to restore White’s Ferry. “Currently, Chuck owns about two and a half acres of land in Maryland, where the ferry dock is and the White’s Ferry store is located.
There’s also a public boat ramp, a picnic area and other features,” Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin told WTOP. “So he’ll be transferring the land and everything on it to us, along with all of the business interests that are present on the site, including the ferry itself.” Established in 1786, White’s Ferry carried between 600 and 800 vehicles daily across the Potomac River and more on weekends. In December 2020, the ferry shut down, after a Loudoun County judge ruled that White’s Ferry had been trespassing since the end of a licensing agreement that allowed the ferry to dock at Rockland Farm on the Virginia side of the Potomac.
Over the years, Kuhn has been unable to reach a deal with Libby Devlin and her brother Peter Brown, who own Rockland Farm, to allow the ferry to resume service. On Thursday, Devlin told WTOP that she was unaware of the deal between Kuhn and Montgomery County and hadn’t been invited to participate in the news conference. “The ferry is a vital service that we want to have restored,” said Conklin.
“With this arrangement, we have the Maryland landing and ferry operations in control and continue to seek solutions by finding answers to where the boat can land in Virginia.” One q…
Summary from source