Almost six years after White’s Ferry closed over a legal dispute, county leaders announced a plan that they think brings it closer to reopening.
Standing in front of the unused ferry Friday morning, Ferry Owner Chuck Kuhn announced he will donate the ferry and sell the property to Montgomery County. The hope is that it will make the Virginia government take action.
Montgomery County will purchase the ferry property on the Maryland side for $1.5 million. But, before service can restart, Montgomery County and the Loudoun County side — where the ferry lands — must come together on an agreement, which local leaders say has been a challenge. The ferry lands in Virginia at Rockland Farm, which is privately owned by Libby Devlin.
“Before this, the two private parties pretty much controlled everything,” Link Hoewing, chair of the Fair Access Committee told MCM.
Although the ferry’s closure continues on, leaders are hopeful that this new change in dynamic will make a difference and will push the Virginia government to do more.
“Now, the Loudoun County government, which has been working with Montgomery County on this all … along and knows them … will be much more willing to take action. I don’t know what that’s going to look like. But, I do think it puts more of a sense of urgency under them to want to move forward on something, which is very welcome,” Hoewing said.
“Private-private was never going to work,” Jim Brown, president of the Poolesville Town Commissioners, told MCM. “So, in order to even get off the ledge, we had to have one of these entities be a public entity. Montgomery County has stepped up to the plate for us.”
