February 9, 2025

The Bridges at Bixler’s Ferry

Near Luray


This is on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. Bixler’s Ferry Road crosses on the bridge to the right, but at one time it crossed on that very low bridge in the center. A section of the low bridge has been removed, allowing canoes and kayaks to navigate through. 


There is a parking lot here for people fishing. (I actually have a state fishing license just so that I have a right to park at boat landings while I’m taking pictures. I’ve never been questioned, but I do know a photographer who was instructed to leave a boat landing. Vehicle space is limited and the state wants to have space available for vehicles towing boats.)


I think the ferry landing was located here. I looked for details and found some other information. Bixler’s Ferry was once named Pixler’s Ferry. A man named Peter Pixler lost his pension from the war of 1812 when he changed his last name to Bixler. In 1870, his house was washed away when the river flooded. (Source: Forerunners by Harry Strickler, found on Google Books.) I also saw several publications that mentioned evidence of an Indian settlement and mounds nearby.


5 comments:

  1. Love the views of the river, why remove only part of the lower bridge. Take care, have a wonderful week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder that too. People do use it as a fishing platform, but I’m sure that trash and branches collect against it.

      Delete
  2. I guess you’ll keep using your fishing licence until they tell you not to. Stopping to take pictures sounds innocuous to me, and I am quite sure that if there was a chance you would block boats you wouldn’t do it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...and Trumpy Dumpy is a wall builder, not a bridge builder.

    ReplyDelete

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