Program

Historic Transportation

Subject

Transportation

Location

99999 Whitehaven Ferry Rd, Quantico, MD 21856, USA

Lat/Long

38.26621, -75.788103

Grant Recipient

Beach to Bay Heritage Area, Inc

As early as 1688, a county-run ferry crossed the Wicomico River, a roughly 25-mile-long tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Somerset County Judicial Records show that the county compensated early ferry operators in tobacco for their services. Carrying passengers and goods across the river to what became Whitehaven, the crossing was eventually known as Whitehaven Ferry.

The community of Whitehaven developed around the ferry landing and served as a tobacco shipping point into the 19th century. By 1877, Whitehaven included a wharf, marine railway, homes, a post office, a church, and stores.

Beginning in 1872, the Wicomico River was dredged north to the city of Salisbury, about 15 miles away at the head of the river. Combined with improved land transportation and the rise of steamships, this change contributed to Whitehaven’s decline as a shipping point. Even so, Whitehaven Ferry continued to serve the surrounding community.

Thought to be one of the oldest ferries in the United States—predating the nation itself—Whitehaven Ferry remains in operation today as a free public service operated by the Wicomico County Department of Public Works.