Col. William Fitzhugh's land at Boyd's hole, over to Maryland.
Hoe's to Cedar point.
Tripplet's land below the mouth of Quantico creek, over to
Brooks's land.
Robert Lovell's in the county of Westmoreland, over to Maryland.
Land of William Russel on Sherendo, cross into the fork, or cross
the main river.
Kersey's landing on Col. Carter Burwell's land, to the land of
Col. Landon Carter.
Gersham Key's land, to the land of the Honourable William Fairfax.
Williams' Gap, from the land of the Right Honourable the Lord
Fairfax, where John Melton now lives, to the land of Ralph
Wormley, Esquire.
Plantation of George Mason, opposite to Rock creek, over to
Maryland.
Plantation of John Hereford in [Doegs?] neck, over the river, to
the lower side of Pamunkey in Maryland.
Hunting creek warehouse to Frazier's point, or Addison's.
Land of Ebenezer Floyd to Powell's.
Evan Watkin's landing, opposite to Canagochego creek, to Edmund
Wade's land in Maryland.
Land of William Clifton to the land of Thomas Wallis.
Land of Hugh West to Frazier's, or Addison's.
The county courts were required to appoint proper boats to be kept at
the ferries where needed for the transportation of wheeled
vehicles--carts, chaises, coaches and wagons. The rates for these
vehicles were based upon the rates for horses. For every coach,
chariot or wagon, the price was the same as for the ferriage of six
horses; for every cart or four-wheeled chaise, the price was the same
as for four horses; and for every two-wheeled chaise or chair, the
same as for two horses. For every hogshead of tobacco, the rate of one
horse was charged. For ferrying animals, every head of neat cattle
rated as one horse; every sheep, lamb or goat, one-fifth part of the
rate for a horse; for every hog, one-fourth of the ferriage of a
horse.
Should the ferryman exceed the legal rates, he was penalized by having
to pay to the party aggrieved, the ferriage demanded and ten
shillings. In February 1752, a free ferry for any persons and their
commodities was established from the town of Port Royal over the
Rappahannock river to the land of John Moore in King George County. In
1757, there were five ferries from Norfolk over her various bodies of
water, one of which was established as a free ferry supported by the
county to enable the poor people of the community to have free passage
to market.
In the _Virginia Gazette_ for March 31, 1768, the following
advertisement appeared: "I have boats for the use of my ferry equal to
any in the government, and can give ferry dispatch greater than any
other ferry keeper on the Potomac river." In the late seventeenth
century, the Henrico county ferry was run by a woman. The county levy
for that year was the sum of 2,000 pounds of tobacco to be paid to
Mrs. Sarah Woodson for keeping the ferry for one year.
The county courts continued to establish new ferries and to
discontinue others through the Revolution and after. Now and then
bridges would take the place of ferries across the smaller streams.
An interesting instance of such a change is told in the _Richmond
Times-Dispatch_ for August 20, 1939. "For a century from 1650, ferries
were maintained across the two branches of Pagan river at Smithfield
in Isle of Wight county. In 1750, these ferries were abandoned for
toll bridges." From year to year, ferries gradually gave way to
bridges and now, when we have passed the middle of the twentieth
century, there are few ferries left in Virginia. These are large, fine
steamboats capable of carrying hundreds of passengers, but are no more
necessary to the welfare of the people than were the little dugouts in
the early days of the colony.