The History of White's Ferry

The History of White's Ferry. . , The original ferry was probably a flat-bottomed-wooden craft guided across the river using poles and ropes. Its design was much like the ferry boat shown below: a long, low structure with a ramp at both ends for loading and unloading cargo. White's Ferry carried passengers, livestock, grain and produce between Maryland and Virginia. In the early 1870s, the crossing was modernized by the installation of an iron tow cable that powered the ferry across the river. Today, the ferry is fully mechanized: an on-board engine guides the boat as it is pulled across the river by the tow cable., Around 1800, the earliest ferry opened for business at this location, joining several ferries that operated along the Potomac River. In 1871, Elijah V. White, a former Confederate cavalry commander in Montgomery County, purchased the ferry operation. He built two warehouses, one for each side of the river, to support his dry goods shipping business. In the 1890s, the business passed to his son, Elijah B. White., In 1946, the ferry business was purchased by R.Edwin Brown and a group of local business owners. In the late 1980s, the Brown family secured sole ownership of White's Ferry., Today, it is the last ferry on the Potomac and one of the last in the Mid-Atlantic region.