Ingles Ferry

Ingles Ferry is a Virginia historical marker in Radford County, dedicated 2022.

Radford County · dedicated 2022 · W. Main Street at intersection with Wilderness Dr.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

William Ingles established Ingles Ferry on the New River ca. 1762, on a site that had long been occupied by Native Americans. He and his wife, Mary Draper Ingles, resided on the river’s eastern side and operated a tavern and store on the western side. Migrants moving westward, coffles of enslaved African Americans, and well-known individuals such as future French king Louis-Philippe I used this crossing on the heavily traveled Great Road. Virginia native William Clark crossed here in Nov. 1809 on a journey from St. Louis with his wife and son to visit family, conduct business in Washington, D.C., and make plans for the publication of the Lewis and Clark Expedition journals.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

The Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania stands under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

The New River3 mi
Ingles Ferry Road3 mi
Lovely Mount Baptist Church (First Baptist Church)3 mi
Page's Meetinghouse3 mi