Future of White's Ferry up for discussion following legal battle
White's Ferry revival: Inside Montgomery County Council's hearing
White's Ferry has been closed since 2020, but the Montgomery County Council held a big hearing Monday on what it would take to reopen. The water crossing over the Potomac River connected Montgomery to Loudon County in Virginia. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald was at the hearing. Here's what took place.
WASHINGTON - The future of White's Ferry is up for discussion Monday morning in Montgomery County.
The ferry used to take hundreds of passengers every day across the Potomac River, from Loudoun County to Montgomery County. The ferry abruptly shut down after a legal battle over the land that it's docked on.
A public hearing led by Montgomery County's Council's Transportation Environment Committee took place Monday morning, but a solution didn't come out of it.
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'We really want the ferry open:' Hundreds protest over White's Ferry continued closure
White’s Ferry, which carries passengers and cars across the Potomac between Maryland and Virginia, has been shut down for two years now. On Thursday, locals gathered to send a message to politicians that it is hurting the community.
Back In December 2020, ferry operations abruptly ceased over disputes and lawsuits related to the ownership and access to the landing on the Virginia side, which is owned by Rockland Farm. A court ruled that the ferry trespassed on the private Virginia land when it expanded its landing.
Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, owners of JK Moving Services, bought the Ferry in February 2021.
In March, the Kuhns said that Rockland Farm said no to a $1.1 million dollar offer to purchase the site. That offer included funds from White’s Ferry’s owners, both Montgomery and Loudoun Counties, and additional funds from Herb Brown, the original ferry owner.
Now many people who rely on the ferry have been reminding representatives from local, state and federal governments that life without the ferry is hurting local businesses, not to mention sometimes quadrupling commutes.
But folks in Poolesville told FOX 5 that after a stalemate since 2020, they'll take the fact that both sides even talked Monday as progress.
Libby Devilin, owner of Rockland Farm in Virginia said her family won’t let the ferry land on their shoreline, unless White’s Ferry in Maryland starts paying them a 50 cent per car fee.
The ferry’s owner, Mr. Kuhn told the council that would mean 60% of his profits, and he’s even upped his offer to buy the farm to $1.15 million.
"The only reason my wife and I bought the ferry was to protect the county and keep the ferry in the river, so we could get the ferry open again, but unfortunately we’ve exhausted all attempts at working together with Rockland," Mr Kuhn said.
"Well, I've always said from the beginning that we want to have a per-vehicle per-car charge so that we can receive a payment for the amount of encroachment on our property," Devlin responded.
800 cars used White's Ferry every day, so 50 cents a car would be about $2,800 a week.
Poolesville residents told FOX 5 losing White's Ferry has cut off a major transportation route into northern Virginia.
Town officials say it’s meant an economic loss of at least $9 million, and Montgomery Council President Evan Glass is calling on Virgina to act.
"If problems were on the Montgomery County side in Maryland, I'd used eminent domain to support our community but this property isn't in Montgomery County," Glass said.
While it was clear from the hearing that the owners of Rockland Farm and the owners of White’s Ferry don’t see eye to eye, Libby Devlin said she is willing to work with both Loudoun and Montgomery County to find a solution.
FOX threw out several lines to Loudoun County officials to comment, but we’re still waiting for that ship to come in.