Ingles Ferry

About this property

Ingles Ferry (sometimes referred to as English Ferry) is the site of a historic ferry crossing on the New River in western Virginia, near the city of Radford in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. A tavern was opened there in 1772 and the ferry served soldiers and civilians until 1948. A bridge was built at the site in 1842 but was burned during the civil war. The tavern and replicas of the 18th-century home of the Ingles family can be seen nearby. The ford was in use by Native Americans when Europeans arrived in the area, and initially was known as Eagle Bottom. William Ingles and his wife Mary Draper Ingles began developing a farm on the eastern side of the New River a few years after Mary's capture by Shawnee Indians and her subsequent escape in 1755. As early as 1760, William was making money ferrying troops across the New River during the Anglo-Cherokee War, and, realizing the value of the ferry, purchased the land from Dr. Thomas Walker. The November 1762 official authorization of Ingles Ferry set fees at 3 pence for man or horse. In 1766, Ingles applied for a license to operate an ordinary (tavern) there. During the first few years of its existence, Indians frequently attacked the farm and ferry, and Ingles constructed a small stockaded blockhouse, which he named Fort Hope, to protect his family and neighbors. With the help of his brother-in-law John Draper, William completed construction of the Ingles Ferry Hill Tavern and blacksmith shop on the Pulaski County side of the river in 1772. The tavern was a popular meeting place for travelers, with Daniel Boone, Andrew Jackson and George Rogers Clark among its patrons. In April 1797, Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and future King of France, crossed the river on the ferry, but did not stop at the tavern. William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) crossed on the ferry at least five times between 1801 and 1820. William Ingles was in charge of improving and maintaining the road leading to and from Ingles Ferry, known at the time as Ingles Ferry Road or English Ferry Road. It later became a main thoroughfare and was part of the Great Wagon Road and the Wilderness Road. 8th. In the Evening crossed over in a ferry the new river or great Canhawa, and were kindly and hospitably received at the house of Colonel Ingles-- here we rested for an entire day...The Scenery about this house was romantic to a degree, the river very beautyfull, the hills well wooded, the low grounds well improved & well stocked, I thought...Mrs. Ingles had in her early years been carryed off with another young Woman by the Savages...however terror and distress had left so deep an impression on her mind that she appear'd absorbed in a deep melancholy.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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