The Sinking of White’s Ferry: The End of a Great Era

By Rande Davis

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - As we begin a new year, I am afraid we also have come to an end of an era. The iconic White’s Ferry and all it represents and means to this town is unlikely to operate again. I have been hopeful, even optimistic, throughout this ordeal that a solution could be found, but at this junction, I only see one path to opening the service again, and it is a very narrow path at that. 

 The Monocle published an exhaustive 2,600-word historical recollection of the legal establishment of the ferry from 1871 (it is believed to have originally opened in the late 1700s) to today. No repeating of that record is necessary here. If you really want a complete understanding of this issue, you can find and read our November 2023 issue online. 

 Both our Town Commission President Jim Brown and Link Hoewing, chairman of the Fair Access Committee, recently announced their conclusion and fear that the ferry will not open. Both gentlemen deserve praise for their exhaustive efforts to find a solution and to motivate all involved both in the public and private sectors. I can also praise our government officials, both elected and appointed, who have so diligently worked to find a way forward.  

 Jim Brown recently stated online: “It’s time for the two private owners to reach an 

agreement and end this farce of a stalemate. More of our time, as elected officials, spent trying to get the two owners to agree to a solution means less time spent on other real issues that affect our region. We’ll always want White’s Ferry to return to service, but it’s time to move on, unfortunately.” 

 We have been discouraged that, with virtually everyone in agreement the ferry should open, no resolution has been made. One might ask: How can that happen? 

 I do not agree with the conclusion of some others who find equal fault by both private landowners or who also criticize the lack of creativity on the part of government officials for the demise of the ferry. It is my opinion that it is the irrational intransigence of Rockland Farm that sank the ferry.  

 First, I want to make clear that Rockland deserves a reasonable compensation for the use of the otherwise unusable part of their property. The roadblock to the reopening of the ferry is their insistence only on a per-car fee solution. It is not the amount of the fee (fifty cents) that is the problem. On the surface it sounds reasonable and fair. It’s the process, not the amount. Let me explain. 

 Such an arrangement has raised a host of concerns held by both owners of the ferry, Ed Brown family and Chuck Kuhn. One thing is certain, no one loved, cared for, or wanted this ferry open more than the late Ed Brown. He saved the ferry once at great risk from permanent closure after he returned home from World War II as a young man and nurtured it through the ups and downs of over seventy years of operation. Chuck Kuhn, a very successful businessman did not buy the ferry from the Brown family to make huge profits. The money Mr. Kuhn could have made from the money he has poured into the ferry through other investments these past three years dwarfs the economic gains ever expected from running a costly, very risky ferry operation. His record of purchasing historical property and preserving it in Virginia is unassailable. He bought the ferry as one more preservation project, expecting to be able to get it open and make profits enough to justify his expenditure—not to lose money. With these two parties so devoted to the notion of keeping the ferry open, one wonders why the demands of Rockland Farm could not be accommodated by either person. It is not simple greed on their part. Maybe they understand the nature and costs of the ferry better than the general public. Perhaps they really do know more about the ferry operation than Rockland Farm.  

 All businesses face the uncertainty of risks, and the goal for any business is to minimize and manage those risks. Even if the landing rights are purchased outright, the uncertainty of the success of the ferry remains. How many cars will use it? What if COVID and the resulting lifestyle changes cause a huge reduction in travelers? What if traffic is reduced by half? The essential key is commuter usage. That is what has allowed the ferry to remain open and made possible the weekend tourist trade these past many decades. Remember, commuters paid a much lower rate, and the fifty cents is a much greater cut into that part of the revenue. Diminished commuter usage could eventually result in the loss of enough revenue to force the ferry to close regardless of how all this turns out.  

 To raise the cost of the ferry can only reduce usage, not increase it, raising the questions: To what degree does traffic diminish? How elastic is the price for use of the ferry? It is clear the price of using the ferry will have to go up to cover so many years of lost income in addition to covering the heavy cost to keep it ready to open quickly in the event of a settlement. If usage goes down, would Rockland agree to a lower fee? Purchasing the use of the landing outright at least provides a level of certainty and makes judgements on further investment into the operation safer and more manageable.  

 The other concern is that the per-car fee arrangement establishes a pseudo-partnership. Both ferry owners determined early on that the owners of Rockland Farm were not suitable partners. Both parties concluded they could not work with Rockland in an ongoing relationship. Besides, no business owner would have a small partner having such power held over them. Forcing the ferry owners into an arrangement they do not want is like a forced marriage, and the owners should not be criticized if they do not believe they can work with the owners of Rockland Farm. 

 It is also suggested that the government could buy the ferry, but the county has made it clear they, too, are not interested in a per-car fee arrangement as it does not work with the governmental budgeting process.  

 Through it all, there does remain a solution. All that is needed is for Rockland Farm to set a price of the purchase of perpetual landing rights. From there, negotiations can at least truly begin. I reported that Peter Brown, the largest shareholder of Rockland Farm, once stated to the Ed Brown family that those rights were worth two million dollars. He called me to dispute this reporting. He denied having said that and is not involved in this issue; only his sister is in charge. The White’s Ferry Browns dispute his claim, so all I can do is report both sides of this he-said-she-said situation.  

 One thing is certain, without an agreed-upon one-time price to perpetually use the landing, the ferry will not ever open. All Rockland has to do is agree to a price that is reasonable. At this point, Rockland has left 1.25 million dollars on the table. Could they get more? Maybe, maybe not, but there are limits. After three years, we have all found a way to live and prosper without the ferry. It’s time for us to move on and sadly remember the nostalgic good old days of how nice and important the ferry was to us.  

 Libby Devlin once told the press that she now enjoys the quiet of the river with the ferry closed. She even placed a small trailer on the riverbank at the landing to do just that. I hope that, while she sits on the bank, watching the river peacefully flow by, she also sees the 1.25 million dollars float by as well. Too bad Peter Brown doesn’t choose to get involved and provide her with the benefit of his excellent investment knowledge to make the money grow. Our advice to her: Take the money on the table now or forever regret your decision.