It’s known as “Kentucky’s oldest continuous business, the Valley View Ferry. Today marks the day the Ferry was granted “a perpetual and irrevocable” franchise by the Virginia General Assembly seven years before Kentucky achieved statehood, on February 11, 1785.
According to Sam Terry’s Kentucky Facebook page, Gov. Patrick Henry signed the charter for John Craig, a Revolutionary War veteran who acquired land near the Kentucky River through a land grant for his service in the American Revolution. Connecting Madison County and Jessamine County via KY169. The Ferry continued as a private enterprise for 206 years, operated by seven different families spanning the decades.
In 1991, the Ferry was purchased by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and the counties of Jessamine and Madison Counties for $60,000. The current Ferry, named “John Craig” in honor of the original franchisee, was put in service in 1996 and thanks to being 10 feet longer than its predecessor, can accommodate three cars per trip.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet operates the free ferry on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.Movie buffs might recognize the ferry in the 1967 film “The Film Flam Man” starring George C. Scott, which also features shots of downtown Irvine, including a scene with the iconic green bridge in Estill County.
