White’s Ferry stalemate continues for a third year

Transportation committee decries lack of progress on aid to reopen access, calls for government intervention

December 27, 2023 10:21 p.m.

Dec. 28 marks the third-year anniversary of the closing of White’s Ferry, and the Fair Access Committee for Western Montgomery County said in a statement Wednesday that the community is very frustrated with the lack of progress on the ferry’s reopening.

“Despite an intensive three-year commitment to solve the impasse by the Poolesville and Western County community (as well as several Maryland elected officials), all efforts have failed,” the committee said. “White’s Ferry remains closed with no end to the stalemate in sight,”

The ferry, which operated for 250 years, transported commuters across the Potomac River between Poolesville in Montgomery County and Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia.

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White’s Ferry closed due to a legal dispute between then-ferry owner Herb Brown and Rockland Farm. The 2020 court case, Rockland Farm LLC., et. al. v. White’s Ferry Inc., originated from a dispute involving Historic Rockland, a historic estate in Leesburg often used as a wedding and event space.

The Fair Access Committee, which is comprised of western county residents who want to improve access to facilities and services, said that the ferry not only helped transport people to medical services and tech business communities across the river but also served as a piece of history for the community.

“Ferry operations are ‘living history,’ representing what our rural community was and, in some ways, remains today,” the committee wrote. “It is a true historic treasure, and its location outside of our Nation’s Capital, alongside George Washington’s C&O Canal, makes it a national treasure as well.”

The committee said that government intervention is the only way to solve the dispute between the private landowners.

“This situation can only be resolved by government stepping in, leading and taking charge. This public service must never again be held hostage to private parties who refuse to put the interests of thousands of affected citizens ahead of their own,” the committee said.

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