Offer to donate land to Montgomery Co. sparks optimism that White’s Ferry service connecting Md. and Va. will resume
There are newfound hopes that ferry service that once carried up to 800 cars a day across the Potomac River between Montgomery County in Maryland and Loudoun County in Virginia could resume.
The current owners of White’s Ferry, Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, made a formal offer to donate the ferry landing property to Montgomery County, with the hopes of resuming ferry service between Poolesville, Maryland, and Leesburg, Virginia.
The Kuhns bought White’s Ferry in 2021, after the previous owner ended operations in 2020. The closure was the result of a dispute with the owner of the ferry landing on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.
In an interview with WTOP, Chuck Kuhn, who is also the founder of JK Moving Services, said he was unable to resolve differences with the owners of Rockland Farm, which includes the Virginia ferry landing.
In making the donation to the county, Kuhn said, “That way, the ferry operation is owned by a governmental entity. And then if they are unsuccessful in working with Rockland Farm, like we had been, they could approach VDOT to use eminent domain to gain access to the Virginia shoreline and get the ferry open again.”
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council President Andrew Friedson have welcomed the offer from the Kuhns.
Elrich wrote in a statement that representatives from the Montgomery County Department of Transportation met with representatives for the Kuhns on Tuesday morning “to begin discussing the nature and timing of the donation.”
Elrich said he’s looking forward to a positive resolution as quickly as possible.
Since the Kuhns purchased White’s Ferry, there had been negotiations with the owners of Rockland Farm, but those talks stalled.
Rockland Farm owner Libby Devlin told WTOP she’s very pleased with the donation.
“I look forward to working with Montgomery and Loudoun counties to get the ferry open as quickly as possible,” Devlin said.
Devlin had been unable to reach an agreement with the Kuhns over a deal to provide access to the Virginia landing in negotiations that went on over a period of three years. When asked what change would allow for a rapid resumption of the ferry operations, Devlin offered few details.
“We were always looking for an inflation-adjusted 50 cents per car,” she said, adding that it was very reasonable.
She, along with Friedson, is hoping the shift in ownership would lead to the ferry opening quickly.
“Our regional transportation network doesn’t need to be held hostage based on a dispute between private property owners,” Friedson said.
Friedson said the donation is the start of an ongoing process.
“This doesn’t resolve all of the issues,” Friedson said.