STERLING, Va. — The owners of White's Ferry now want to donate the operation to Montgomery County. Chuck and Stacy Kuhn officially made the offer Tuesday.
The Kuhns say the offer is meant to get the ferry operational, preserve history, save jobs and reduce traffic — and end a years-long debate that has kept the ferry grounded since 2020.
“We are happy to propose a resolution to Montgomery County. Our goal was always to get the ferry reopened," said Chuck Kuhn, CEO, JK Land Holdings in a press statement. "It’s a special crossing that serves as a local economic engine and piece of history. Too many businesses and residents have had their livelihoods impacted by its closure. Despite many good faith efforts to work with the Virginia landowners to make ferry access available, donating the operation became the only solution that made sense to ensure the ferry has a chance to become a functioning part of our lives and local economy."
It's the latest move in a long-running fight between landowners that has kept the Historic White’s Ferry out of operation four years. The Kuhns own the ferry boat and the land on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Libby Devlin and Rockland Farms, LLC owns the land on the Virginia side used as a landing.
White’s Ferry had been operating since before George Washington became president. By 2020, it had been in operation for 234 years. Then, a Loudoun County judge ruled that the spot where the ferry had been docking all those years was not public land.
The law says you can’t park your boat on someone else’s property without permission. In addition to fighting over land, neither side could agree on fair compensation, resulting in the ferry service shutting down.
But the ferry is not just a tourist attraction. Up until its closure, the ferry took nearly 800 vehicles across the Potomac River each day, and many people relied on it to get to work.
The Kuhns now say donating the land to Montgomery County is the best way to end the stalemate.
“Our donation will be the best way forward," Chuck Kuhn said. "This is not what we had originally envisioned, but we recognize the importance of White’s Ferry to our region. With this donation, we believe that Montgomery County will be able to work with Virginia to get the ferry moving again."
The ferry owners claim getting the ferry operational again will have a massive economic impact. Based on travel time savings, travel cost savings, safety savings, the value of emissions avoided, and the value of trips not taken, the economic impact could be $9 million this year alone.
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