SURRY, Va. — The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry crosses the James River between James City County and Surry County.
I sat down with Sam Edwards to learn more about the ferry's history. His great-grandfather started the ferry. He was the first captain in 1925.
Edwards explained to me how the ferry came to be: "'A lot of tourists are gonna be coming this way,' the thinking was," he said. "Well, there was no way to get there from this side of the river except driving an hour and a half, two hours—probably two hours in that day."
As we sat inside the restored deckhouse of the ferry boat, the “Capt. John Smith," Mr. Edwards told me all sorts of stories about the early days of the ferry and his family.
"If somebody came to the dock and they were supposed to catch the 10 o'clock and they missed it by a minute or two, he would back up and come get them. The ferry doesn’t do that these days," Edwards said.
"I heard stories where [they were] trying to get more cars on when they were busy. The deckhands would literally pick the Model-Ts up and scooch them over a little bit to maybe fit one more car on there to get that extra buck fifty," said Edwards.
"I also heard the deckhands when they ran back and forth," Edwards shared. "My great grandfather would give them a paintbrush and say, 'No need and sit and watch the river go by, paint while you're moving.'"
Captain Albert Jester’s son-in-law, Wallace Edwards, Sr., had the great idea to start selling ham sandwiches on the ferry. The ham was cured at his family farm in Isle of Wight.
"One thing led to another, which in turn, created Edwards Virginia Smokehouse, which started in 1926 and lasted for 95 years," said Edwards.
To visit the deckhouse of the ferry boat “Capt. John Smith” and learn more about Surry County, visit the Surry County Historical Society. The deckhouse and museum are located on Bank Street in Surry.
