Location Radford, Virginia, USA NRHP Reference # 69000275 Designated VLR May 13, 1969 Area 8,000 m² | Built 1772 VLR # 077-0013 Opened 1772 Added to NRHP 25 November 1969 | |
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Address Wilderness Rd, Dublin, VA 24084, USA Similar Glencoe Museum, Blue Ridge Mountains, Fort Pleasant, Taylor Hotel, Fort Tonoloway State Park | ||
Ingles Ferry is a historic farm in Radford, Virginia, USA. It is both a working, commercial farm and a historical preserve where living history interpreters depict life in the late 18th century.
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Ingles Ferry was developed as a farm and small plantation by William Ingles and his wife Mary Draper Ingles, pioneers in Virginia. They settled there a few years after Mary's escape from Shawnee captivity in 1755, the same year she and two sons were captured. They raised four more children: three daughters and a son John. Around 1762 William obtained a license to operate a ferry across the New River.
Still owned by Ingles descendants and operated as a commercial farm, the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and protected as a state historic site.
The Long Way Home
From 1971 to 1999, an outdoor stage play entitled The Long Way Home was performed at the historic site each summer. It focused on Mary Draper Ingles' escape from Shawnee captivity. However, because of a variety of factors, the play was eventually shut down and the stage and scenery dismantled.
Living History
In 2003, work was begun in order to restore the area to what it might have looked like in the late 18th century. The Ingles log cabin was reconstructed on the basis of archeological work done in the 1970s and a photograph from the late 19th century.
Period livestock were added to the farm, including American Milking Devon cattle and Hog Island Sheep from Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon, respectively. These breeds, although common and highly popular in the 18th century, have since fallen out of favor and are now nearly extinct. Ingles Ferry is involved in the preservation of both of these heirloom breeds.
The farm and historical preserve are owned by descendants of Mary Draper Ingles. John Ingles' house is private. The reconstructed cabin and historical preserve are open to the public on select weekends throughout the spring and summer.
The reconstructed home is located on the east side of the New River at 37°6'13"N, 80°35'1"W (37.10356,-80.58360). The tavern is across the river at 37°6'5"N, 80°35'29"W (37.10125,-80.59135).