In Dec. 2020, historic White’s Ferry stopped service after more than 230 years of operation.
The change came effective immediately following a Nov. 2020 court ruling in Virginia. The Fair Access Committee of Western Montgomery County held a rally Thursday to mark the two-year anniversary of the shutdown that cut off a major transportation link between Montgomery and Loudoun counties.
Poolesville leaders estimated about nine million extra miles have been driven since the closure. They said businesses have lost 20% of their customer base. Jim Brown, President of the Poolesville Town Commissioners, said nearby businesses have not rebounded since the pandemic the way other establishments in the area have.
“Some of our restaurants are 20% down, some of our things, just like our dry cleaners aren’t fully functioning yet,” Brown said.
“There’s so much traffic that used to come through Virginia that’s gone,” said Tom Kettler, President of the Poolesville Area Chamber of Commerce. Erika Myers, owner of Bassett’s Restaurant on Fisher Avenue, said business is fine but would be “so much better” if the ferry was open.
Link Hoewing, with the Fair Access Committee for Western Montgomery County, said White’s Ferry Road is a main street in Poolesville, going through the town, down to route 28 and down-county.
“I can’t imagine another main road in Montgomery County being blocked and not having something done immediately to open it,” Hoewing said.
“People say we’re in the middle of nowhere, we think we’re in the middle of everything once the ferry is open,” Brown said.
The 2020 ruling in Virginia found there is no legally established public or private landing on Rockland Farm, the Virginia property where the ferry operated.
“If the county could’ve opened it, we would’ve opened it a long time ago,” County Executive Marc Elrich said. He said Loudoun County does not want to exercise eminent domain and it is a matter of finding a deal, which normally would be done between the ferry operator and property owner in Virginia, “and they can’t seem to come to agreement.”
“So we’re in this trying to figure out what is the ask and what do we need to do to try to solve the problem,” Elrich said. “And if we have to figure out what’s a revenue source we can find that we can use to solve the problem.” He said the county has been involved in active negotiations.
Although it is a dispute between private parties, advocates in Poolesville believe elected leaders can work to solve the problem.
“What we think can be done, though, is that Montgomery County can in fact negotiate an easement agreement with the Virginia landowner,” Hoewing said.
“You’re not allowed to cut off a public road and hold it hostage,” Brown said. “We’re not asking, we’re requesting, we’re borderline demanding that our elected officials step up to the plate and forge an agreement.”
Rally to reopen White’s Ferry on two-year anniversary of its closure. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/zj01hboMRn
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) December 29, 2022
