Virginia Co-Owner’s Donation of White’s Ferry Paves Way for Potomac River Crossing’s Reopening

A Virginia-based ferry owner has donated his dormant transportation service that connects the commonwealth to Maryland, ending Virginia’s era of ownership in hopes of lifting the ferry suspension after six years.

A child plays in the water next to the White’s Ferry vessel in the Potomac River across from Loudoun County in Virginia. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

White’s Ferry is one of the few that remain nationally. At the time of its closure in December 2020, it allowed 600 to 800 vehicles per day to cross the Potomac River from Montgomery County, Maryland, to Loudoun County, Virginia. The closure has resulted in longer drive times for travelers and a negative impact on businesses near both sides of the ferry’s ports.

On Friday, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, longtime Virginia business owner and ferry co-owner Chuck Kuhn announced plans to turn over the service, property, and assets to Maryland’s Montgomery County, to continue the process of restarting the ferry service.

Kuhn was joined by Maryland state lawmakers and leaders from Montgomery County and neighboring jurisdictions of White’s Ferry.

In 2021, Kuhn and his wife, Stacey, purchased the ferry in hopes of reviving service. But they couldn’t reach an agreement on operations and the structure of revenue with Rockwell Farms, the owner of the landing in Virginia, leaving the ferry docked.

The couple doesn’t care about owning the ferry, Kuhn said Friday. What’s important to them is keeping the ferry open.

“We acquired the ferry so the barge wouldn’t be removed and cut up for scrap,” Khun said in an interview after the announcement. “We were afraid that once it was gone, we’d never get a boat back on the river.”

He added, “What we needed to do was get the ferry out of private ownership and into county and state ownership, and (now) you’ll see action. This ferry will ride.”

As part of the tentative deal, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the locality will pay the Kuhns $1.5 million for 2.5 acres of ferry landing property. The boat, store lease, and related equipment are being donated by the Kuhns.

“The most logical and simple thing is just go to that (Virginia) landing that we can all see in plain sight, and just get the job done and get the state and the owner to agree that we can resume services,” Elrich said of how the plan developed.

Elrich explained that reopening White’s Ferry will significantly reduce commute times by restoring a direct crossing, helping drivers avoid long detours to distant bridges.

A study estimates that this time savings was worth about $1 million per year in 2022 dollars and will grow to roughly $1.77 million annually by 2040, with the overall economic impact of the crossing projected to be between $9 million and $13 million each year.

He added that the county plans to hire operators, rather than run the ferry itself, and is open to different fee structures, including per-car charges, but no specific per-car cost has been set yet.

Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin said the agency explored multiple ways to restart the ferry, adding that “this is the most likely path for success, and we hope that it happens.”

Conklin said the county has several tasks to complete before service can resume, including assessing the condition of the vessel. In the meantime, the county will wait until representatives of Loudoun County government and Rockwell Farms can reach an agreement on the future of the landing, which has been an ongoing process.

Loudoun County spokesman Glen Barbour said in a statement that Montgomery County officials informed his county on Thursday about the agreement to assume ownership of the property and the ferry.

Barbour said Loudoun views the purchase as a “positive development” and remains interested in a “commercially reasonable price for the land in Virginia that would enable the two counties to resume operation of the ferry in the future.”

Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer added, “This is an important milestone toward improving regional connectivity. Working together on projects like this creates stronger local economies and better opportunities on both sides of the river.”

Barbour did not detail any of Loudoun’s plans. However, Loudoun County does have the authority to exercise eminent domain, or to take private property for a public use. The authority comes from both the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Virginia Constitution.

The Mercury contacted Rockland Farms for comment but didn’t receive a response by press time.

With the sale of the service, Virginia’s list of ferry operations is trimmed down to at least three, including Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, the largest of a trio of state-operated ferry systems. The free ferry service runs between Jamestown in James City County and Surry County.

Virginia saw an increase in ferry demand since the pandemic, reaching an average of 2,185 vehicles per day in 2023, up from 1,922 in 2020, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

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