Ingles Ferry
Historical highway marker K-85 · Radford
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.
Department of Historic Resources, 2022