Elwell Ferry
Bladen County, Bladen County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Elwell Ferry. Service across Cape Fear River since 1905. Among the last of inland river ferries once common in eastern N.C. One mi. SW.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Since 1905 the Elwell Ferry has carried travelers across the Cape Fear River in rural Bladen County, pulled along a cable strung from bank to bank. Once dozens of such ferries stitched together eastern North Carolina, where bridges were scarce and the rivers wide. Today it is among the last inland cable ferries still running in the state.
Why it matters
Small river ferries were essential connective tissue for rural America, and the few that survive preserve a vanishing mode of everyday travel.
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