The Valley View Ferry provides passage over the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...

in rural central

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Located on

Kentucky Route 169 Kentucky Route 169 (KY 169) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. KY 169 travels from U.S. Route 25 Business (US 25 Bus.) in Richmond to KY 33 south of Versailles via Nicholasville and Keene. The hig ...

, this

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service connects auto traffic between the county seats of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in Madison County and Nicholasville in Jessamine County. The ferry was founded in 1780, predating Kentucky's admission to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in 1792. It is widely regarded as the

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

's oldest continually operating business. John Craig, a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

veteran of the Revolutionary War, acquired land in the area in 1780 through a military warrant. In 1785, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

granted Craig "a perpetual and irrevocable" franchise to operate a ferry.

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

, James Mason and

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

were among its passengers. The ferry remained a privately owned business for more than 200 years, passing through the hands of seven successive families until 1991. It was then purchased jointly by the

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and Jessamine counties for $60,000. The rudderless ferry is guided by cables stretching between four 55-foot towers. The current boat, named the "John Craig" after the franchise's original owner, dates to 1996. The vessel it replaced sustained heavy damage after sinking under the weight of a heavy snowfall and then as a result of salvage efforts. The entire ferry site was renovated in 1998, when authorities replaced the four towers and their cables. Two years later, the ferry authority received a federal grant allowing an upgrade of the barge. The new vessel, longer than its predecessor by ten feet, enables the ferry to carry three cars instead of two. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet funds the ferry as a free service. On average it transports 250 cars a day.

Popular culture

The ferry appeared in background scenes of the 1967

Irvin Kershner Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television. He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...

film ''

The Flim-Flam Man ''The Flim-Flam Man'' (titled ''One Born Every Minute'' in some countries) is a 1967 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner, featuring George C. Scott, Michael Sarrazin, and Sue Lyon, based on the 1965 novel ''The Ballad of the Flim-Fla ...

''.

References

External links

Valley View Ferry: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
{{coord, 37.847224, -84.435688, region:US, display=title American companies established in 1785 Pre-statehood history of Kentucky Ferries of Kentucky Transportation in Jessamine County, Kentucky Transportation in Madison County, Kentucky Transportation in Lexington, Kentucky 1780 establishments in Virginia Cable ferries in the United States Nicholasville, Kentucky Richmond, Kentucky