Free ferries are an echo of the past
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| The new Merry Point ferry can carry up to four cars. |
by Starke Jett
The Merry Point and Sunnybank car ferries carry their passengers on a time traveling trip into the history of the area.
The Merry Point ferry, located in Lancaster County and named the “Lancaster,” was started in 1847 and crosses the Corrotoman River.
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| The Sunnybank ferry crosses the Little Wicomico River. The ferry runs on two cables that steer it across the river. |
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| The Merry Point ferry crosses the Corrotoman River in Lancaster County. |
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| Stephen Crockett (left) is one of the operators of the Merry Point ferry. “Captain” Johnny Smith (right) has run the Sunnybank ferry for nine years. |
The Northern Neck vessels are the last two free powered, cable car ferries in the state and handle about 30,000 vehicles a year. There is a poled cable car ferry over a narrow section of the James River at Hatton near Scottstown, but that is more of a historical curiosity than a regularly used ferry.
The only other car ferries in the state are the four large Jamestown/Scotland ferries that handle over 700,000 cars per year.
There is one other ferry across the Potomac River that is part of the Maryland transportation system. It is located six miles west of Poolesville, Maryland, and north of Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is the only ferry still operating on the Potomac River. The General Jubal A. Early carries cars, bicycles, and pedestrians between Maryland and Virginia.
The Neck ferries were private affairs until the Virginia Department of Transportation took over their operation in the 1930s.
Until 1985 the ferries were powered by deadrise work boats tied to the side of a barge, according to VDOT archives. That year two steel hulled ferries were built in Deltaville at a cost of just under $300,000.
Those two-car ferries were replaced this year with two four-car ferries also built in Deltaville at a cost of about $500,000 each. The cost for bridges at each location would be in the millions, according to VDOT.
The new ferries started operations in the early summer of 2010.
The Merry Point ferry is at the end of Merry Point Road, Route 604, and operates from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The Sunnybank ferry is on Sunnybank Road, Route 644, and operates from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. There is no ferry service during inclement weather or tidal conditions and during the operator’s midday lunch break.
Each ferry saves travelers about a half hour of drive time and provides them with a chance to get out and experience the beauty of the local waters. They are popular with tourists and residents alike.
