PLENTY Magazine Spring 2026 PLENTY Magazine Spring 2026 | Page 25

Montgomery or Loudoun County
countrysides. As a result, it stands
to reason that the warehouse
would have been located extremely
close to the landing.
The Hopkins Atlas Map of 1879,
which is focused on the Maryland
side of the river, clearly shows
these warehouses. The McDowell
and Schedler Map of Loudon County
clearly shows the warehouse on
the Virginia side of the river. Today,
none of these warehouses remain
standing aside from some limited
ruins on the Maryland side. However
1863 Map of Fauquier & Loudoun Counties.( Source: Library of Congress)
, I suspect that if one were able
case. The 1854 Yardley Map of Loudoun County is beautifully done and clearly shows White’ s Ferry, or“ Conrad’ s Ferry” as it was known at that time. While Yardley shows the location of the Maryland landing, there is no clear depiction of the Virginia landing.
The 1863 map of Fauquier and Loudoun Counties is another beautiful map from the time period that provides us a better sense of the main roads on either side of the crossing, the local property owners, and even what appears to be a roadway down to the water’ s edge on the Virginia side of the river. The problem here is one of scale— the map does not have one. Again, because we need to prove the current landing site is precisely the same within a few feet, this map doesn’ t help the cause.
One interesting detail that might offer clues to the landing location is the reference to a warehouse on the Virginia side of the river( shown in both maps at the right). When Elijah White took
both sides of the river. These warehouses stored goods prior to being moved down the C & O canal to markets or out to farmers in the
to identify the location of the Virginia side warehouse, it would be a valuable piece of evidence to better understand the landing site on that side of the river. Why? Because
ownership of the ferry, he built warehouses near the landings on
Top: 1879 Hopkins Atlas Map; above: 1862 McDowell and Schedler Map of Loudoun County.( Source: Library of Congress)
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