Skip to main content

Jamestown - Scotland Ferry

Image
By
The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, which carries VA 31 traffic across the James River, is Virginia's largest inland ferry operation.  Running seven days a week, 24 hours a day, the four ferry boats (The Virginia, Surry, Pocahontas and Williamsburg - shown at left) that cross the James River run throughout the year.  Service began over 80 years ago on February 26, 1925 when the Captain John Smith made the initial crossing.  (1)
 
Not long after the initial voyage of the Captain John Smith, the first suggestion of building a bridge to replace the ferry was made in 1928.  Since then, there have been numerous discussions and proposals to build a bridge over the river, but none have gathered any steam.  The Virginia Department of Transportation took over the ferry operation in 1945 and continue to oversee ferry operations to this day.
 
Directions & Notes:
  • From Jamestown: Follow VA 31 South to ferry terminal at Glass House Point 
  • From Surry County: Follow VA 31 North through Scotland to ferry terminal
  • Since 2004 all vehicles are subject to a random security search before boarding the ferry.
  All photos taken August 26, 2006.

Gulls and other birds sit on top piers at the Scotland landing.

Exiting the Scotland landing heading north towards Jamestown.

Looking downriver on the James towards the east.

The Surry heads from Glass House Point towards Scotland.

The Jamestown Tricentennial Monument (obelisk in right-center of photo) can be seen while crossing the James.

Large freighters, like the one pictured, are able to navigate the wide James River.

The Pocahontas exits the Glass House Point terminal on the north shore of the James.

A closer view of the Pocahontas.

Looking downriver on the James again, this time with an ocean freighter, jet skiers, and recreational boaters in view.

The Williamsburg heads for the Glass House Point terminal.

Sources & Links:

  • (1) Virginia Department of Transportation. "Jamestown-Scotland Ferry History." (November 24, 2006)
  • Jamestown-ScotlandFerry ---Virginia Department of Transportation
  • Ferries in Virginia ---Virginiaplaces.org
  • VA 31 @ Virginia Highways Project ---Mike Roberson/Adam Froehlig
    •  
    Labels:

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

    By
    The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
    2 comments
    Read more

    May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

    By
      Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

    By
    A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
    4 comments
    Read more