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In 1817, when the ferry began operating, Sistersville was known as Wells Landing, then a part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Fly was then an unpopulated site in America's Northwest Territory, best known for having been used as a campsite by George Washington during a 1770 survey of the Ohio Valley.

In busier times, the Sistersville Ferry operated year-around, seven days a week, weather permitting. But in recent years, the ferry has adopted a Thursday-Sunday schedule from early May through the end of September, with tourists accounting for a growing share of its passengers.

Shut down since early June

Today, the Sistersville Ferry is the only ferry service operating on the upper 427 miles of the Ohio River. But this year, the ferry has been closed since June 5, after its then-captain, who had only been on the job for a few weeks, was arrested on domestic violence and firearms charges. He was subsequently dismissed from his position with the ferry, following the off-duty incident in Monroe County, Ohio.

"The ferry had only been operating for about two weeks before that happened, due to high water or high winds," Sistersville Ferry Board member Helen Bucella-Costa said.

Since then, the ferry board, which oversees the operation of the 72-ton, 500 horsepower City of Sistersville II towboat and its eight-car capacity barge, the Capt. G.B. Harmon, has been searching for a new captain. It's been a challenge, since the job requires the successful candidate to have earned a Master of Towing license for 100-ton vessels from the U.S. Coast Guard, received certification to operate the ferry's radar system and be willing to work a seasonal, part-time schedule.

"We had overtures from a few river pilots in the area offering to help us out on occasion, but no one's been willing to do the job on a regular schedule," said Gary Bowden, president of the Sistersville Ferry Board. "Not being able to operate this summer has really been painful."

New captain hired

But that pain should soon be ending. The ferry board recently hired as its new captain Kevin Bunner of nearby Beavertown, Ohio. Bunner comes to the Sistersville Ferry from American Cruise Lines, the nation's largest riverboat and small-ship cruise line, where he worked on vessels plying the Mississippi, Columbia and Snake rivers.

"Operating this boat is a bit different from the ones I've been working on," Bunner said during a Tuesday afternoon cross-river training session with retired Sistersville Ferry skipper Bo Hause, a 12-year veteran of the City of Sistersville II's pilot house, following a career with the U.S. Coast Guard.

"This boat is quite a bit shorter than the 300-foot ones I'm used to, and you steer it with rudders, instead of a Z-drive [a propeller mounted on a pod that can rotate 360 degrees]," Bunner said. "But the pivoting you need to do with the ferry's barge is really something. It's so fun."

After spending Monday afternoon and several hours on Tuesday practicing river crossings and landings under Hause's watchful eye, Bunner made a solo round-trip run while the retired skipper took in the view from the barge.

Although the ferry has yet to officially reopen, the operators of two cars and two motorcycles were waiting at the ramp on the Ohio side of the river as Bunner approached, hoping to make the crossing to Sistersville.

Upon landing, Hause opened the gate to the barge deck and waved the vehicles aboard for a free ride to the West Virginia shore as part of the training exercise.

Customers react to restored service

Janet Veegle of Sistersville, the driver of one of the cars and an employee of the Riverview restaurant, adjacent to the Fly landing, said she looks forward to the ferry returning to its regular schedule.

"With the ferry, I can get home from work in 10 minutes, instead of the 30 to 45 minutes it takes me to drive home using the bridge at New Martinsville," she said. "And when the ferry's running, the restaurant gets slammed with customers."

By chance, the ferry was landing at Fly as Jim Ries of Ravenna, Ohio, and Blake Thoreson of Painesville, Ohio, approached the site on their motorcycles on Ohio 7. 

"The last time I did this was 32 years ago," said Ries, as the ferry glided toward the West Virginia shore. "It's awesome."

"When he told me there was a ferry here, I said, 'What? We've got to go,'" Thoreson said.

"Looks like you got this part of the job down," Hause said after Bunner nudged the ramp of the vehicle-carrying barge to a gentle connection with the pavement at the ferry's Sistersville landing. "Now we need to go all over the boat and barge to show you where all the tools, pumps and fluids are kept."

After Bunner's training period with Hause ends, the new skipper will take a weeklong training course in Florida in early September to become certified in the use and operation of the City of Sistersville II's radar system.

What's next

Just when the ferry will resume its normal schedule of operations remains unresolved.

Bowden said he hopes the service can resume by late September, and the ferry board may consider extending its regular Thursday-Sunday cross-river service into October this year in an effort to capture some of its lost revenue.

"The city of Sistersville owns the ferry, but they don't give us the funds to operate it," said Weldon Williams, a Sistersville Ferry Board member. "When it's running, the ferry costs $829 a day to operate," taking into account fuel, salaries, insurance and maintenance costs, he said.

With at least three months of business lost, assuming the ferry does not reopen until sometime in late September, the ferry board has been intensifying its nonfare fundraising efforts, which include the sale of Sistersville Ferry-branded shirts, hats, coffee mugs, umbrellas and blankets.

A benefit concert for the ferry featuring country and Americana artists Gabe Lee, Jason Eady and the duo King Margo, all of whom have performed at the Grand Ole Opry, will take place starting at 2 p.m. on Sept. 25, in the Sistersville Elks Club. Admission is free, but donations are sought. 

"A lot of people depend on the ferry," Sistersville Ferry Board member Rose Hamilton said.

With a new, 30,000-square-foot Sistersville General Hospital scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, "the ferry will be beneficial to the people working there," she said. "People are already missing it now."

"I think it will be a huge morale booster for the community to get the ferry up and running again," Bowden said. "It's a source of pride. It's an Ohio Valley icon."