Valley View Ferry: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The '''Valley View Ferry''' provides passage over the [[Kentucky River]] in rural central [[Kentucky]]. Located on [[Kentucky Route 169]], it helps connect auto traffic between the county seats of [[Richmond, Kentucky|Richmond].k] in [[Madison County, Kentucky|Madison County]] and [[Nicholasville, Kentucky|Nicholasville]] in [[Jessamine County]]. The ferry was founded in 1780, predating Kentucky's admission to the [[United States|Union]] in 1792. It is widely regarded as the [[Commonwealth#US states|commonwealth's]] oldest continually operating business.<ref name="Poor91">{{cite news | last = Poor | first = Chris | title = The Return of the Valley View Ferry: Oldest Business is Back in Business | publisher = ''[[Lexington Herald-Leader]]'' | date = 1991-07-28 | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref>

John Craig, a [[Virginia]] veteran of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], acquired land in the area in 1780 through a military warrant. In 1785, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] granted Craig "a perpetual and irrevocable" franchise to operate a ferry.<ref>On-site historical marker, referenced in {{cite book |title=Roadside History: A Guide to Kentucky Highway Markers|last=Wells |first=Dianne |coauthors=Melba Porter Hay, Thomas H. Appleton|year=2002|publisher=Kentucky Historical Society|location= Frankfort |isbn= 0-916968-28-6|pages=149}}</ref> [[Daniel Boone]], [[Henry Clay]] and [[Ulysses S. Grant]] were among its passengers.<ref name="Hammond04">{{cite news | last = Hammond| first = Claude| title = A Kentucky Ferry Tale| publisher = Lexington Herald-Leader| date = 2004-03-01|accessdate=2008-02-20}}</ref> 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, Kentucky|Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government]] and [[Madison County, Kentucky|Madison]] and [[Jessamine County, Kentucky|Jessamine]] counties for $60,000.<ref name="Poor91"/>

The rudderless [[Cable ferry|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.<ref>{{cite news |first= Kimberly N|last= Martin |title= Boat Damage Sinks Historic Ferry Service: 2-Month Shutdown Inconveniencing Passengers |publisher= Lexington Herald-Leader|date=1996-01-17