State Historic Landmark - Rocky Hill, Connecticut - Connecticut Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Marker Text:
Nation's oldest continuously operating ferry. Since 1655, public transportation across the Connecticut River has been provided at this site, connecting the towns of Rocky Hill and Glastonbury, both formerly parts of the town of Wethersfield. Motive power has been supplied at various times by poles, oars, a horse treadmill and a steam engine. Privately operated for 260 years, this ferry became a State facility in 1915. It is now operated by the State Department of Transportation. Crossing time, 4 minutes.

More about the ferry:
"The ferry is the oldest continuously running ferry service in the United States. Started in 1655, it actually began before the foundation of the towns of Glastonbury and Rocky Hill, both towns being part of Wethersfield at that time.
Originally a raft that was poled across the Connecticut River, it was then powered by a horse on a treadmill before being upgraded to a steamship in 1876. Today's ferry is a 3-car barge named the Hollister III towed by a diesel towboat named the Cumberland.
The ferry landings and the ferry itself are included in the Glastonbury–Rocky Hill Ferry Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The National Register listing was proposed in 2005 to help preserve the historic ferry. The historic district also encompasses farmscapes of the Great Meadows in South Glastonbury that preserve 17th-century land use patterns and Colonial and Greek Revival farmhouses, as well as the homes of shipbuilders and merchant traders near the two landings, including several examples of Colonial and Italianate architecture.
The ferry was to be closed by the state on August 25, 2011 because of budget cuts. Though service was not cancelled when savings were found elsewhere in the state budget, the State Department of Transportation has been meeting with residents who wish to find a way to have the ferry be self-financing to at least a small extent" - Wikipedia

Marker Name: State Historic Landmark Marker Type: Roadside Additional Information: Marker placed by the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Connecticut Historical Commission. Date Dedicated / Placed: 1973

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