White’s Ferry owner speaks on donation offer to Montgomery County

Kevon Dupree
·2 min read
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) – White’s Ferry owners Chuck and Stacy Kuhn say this donation offer to Montgomery County is part of their commitment to getting the ferry reopened to preserve history, save jobs and reduce traffic.

The Kuhn Family purchased White’s Ferry in 2021 with the goal of getting it back up and running after it was shut down completely in 2020.

“When we heard the ferry was being shut down,” Chuck Kuhn said, “We were very concerned about the impact it was going to have on the region. We acquired the ferry from the Browns thinking that it would be very easy to negotiate with Rockland Farm and get the ferry back in operation.”

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However, Chuck Kuhn says those negotiations didn’t go as smoothly as he hoped.

“Unfortunately,” he said. “We misestimated the complexity of trying to get the Virginia shoreline secured and get the ferry back in operation.”

Now the Kuhn Family has decided to offer the historic White’s Ferry operation to Montgomery County.

“After three years of working diligently, trying everything reasonably possible to get the ferry open,” Chuck Kuhn said, “We’ve decided that’s going to be in the best interest of the region, best interest of our family and the community.”

He says the ferry is an important part of transportation in the region — taking 1,100 vehicles across the Potomac River daily. He wants to see the ferry back in operation soon and says he’s positive Montgomery County can make that come to fruition.

“I’m confident that by donating the ferry to Montgomery County,” Chuck Kuhn said. “Montgomery County will take necessary action to get this ferry open, and a lot of that action, as private individuals, we couldn’t do.”

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Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich released a statement Tuesday saying he’s optimistic the county can reach an agreement on the terms of the donation.

Rockland Farm owner Libby Devlin provided a statement on Wednesday saying, “This is great news! I look forward to working with Montgomery and Loudon Counties to reopen the ferry as soon as possible!”

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