White’s Ferry

White’s Ferry is the last operating ferry on the Potomac River. Early settlers recognized that these relatively still waters were an ideal place for a ferry, and the first known operation here was Conrad’s Ferry in 1817. After the Civil War, former Confederate soldier Elijah White purchased the service and made many improvements to it, naming his ferry boat in honor of his former commander General Jubal Early. The ferry was more than a convenient river crossing, providing a place of commerce between the canal and the surrounding community. Farmers from Virginia used it to get their crops to market in Washington, D.C., and Maryland by way of the C&O Canal, and before modern refrigeration, reliable transportation could mean the difference between prosperity and a year’s work rotting in storage. Together, the canal and the ferry shortened the time it took farmers to get goods to market. To help farmers further, White built a granary along the canal to store grain until it could be loaded and shipped by canal. Today the ferry continues to serve its community as a safe river crossing and a living link to the past.

Maryland · United States