A ferry has crossed the Connecticut River at Rocky Hill since 1655; the state still runs it eight months a year, a three-car barge pushed across by a diesel towboat

Many American commutes follow a familiar pattern: highways, brake lights, and coffee going cold in the cupholder. Meanwhile, in central Connecticut, something slower is going strong. According to a Connecticut Department of Transportation publication, the Rocky Hill–Glastonbury Ferry is the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States, with the service dating back to 1655. That's more than a century before the Declaration of Independence, and it still carries people over the Connecticut River from Rocky Hill to Glastonbury.

The details are strange. The same agency notes that the ferry runs only from April 1 to November 30, is closed the day of the Thanksgiving holiday (a single-day exception that falls within that otherwise-open eight-month season, not a separate closing period), and has no scheduled departure times. It departs only when vehicles and passengers arrive. For a service built around waiting a few extra minutes rather than eliminating the wait altogether, running on demand for eight months a year, and having done so for centuries, is a notably different way of thinking about a commute.

From poles to diesel: a long way to go


According to a 2023 Connecticut Public article, the ferry began as a raft propelled along by poles, and eventually became a small boat powered by a horse walking on a treadmill, and it transitioned to steam in the 1800s. Today it is a diesel-powered tug and barge, the same report notes, with the tug being the Cumberland and the three-car barge the Hollister III. That same report says the barge is named for the Hollister family, who ran the ferry beginning around the Revolutionary War.

The crossing lasts about four minutes, and the same report cites the words of Captain Blaise Clemente, who said, “You know, it’s a tribute to the ferry system that somebody would wait sometimes 30 minutes for a four-minute ride. But they love it.” It also cites commuters who say the ferry is a better alternative. One contractor, Ryan Crafta, said that the path to the Putnam Bridge is completely snarled with morning traffic, and that the ferry “kind of starts the day better and ends the day better.” Another rider said he would rather watch birds and a sunrise than race down the highway. A calmer ride, for these riders, outweighs a faster one.

The price of calm, and who pays for it

Per the Connecticut Department of Transportation figures, a vehicle pays $5 on weekdays and $6 on weekends. Pedestrians and cyclists pay $2, and a book of 20 crossings costs $60, which is about $3 per trip. Tickets may be purchased onboard or through Token Transit. CTDOT acknowledges that the ferry is subsidized. It argues that other forms of transportation are subsidized as well, and the ferry is a public service for commuters and a destination for tourists that the state finds worthy of its investment. The state considered mothballing the ferry during the tenure of Governor Dannel Malloy in the early 2010s, but it survived after its riders spoke up. That's a fair argument to make, and the taxpayers should hear the number. But a ledger that only counts fares is always going to miss out on the value of a calm crossing to those who take it.

Not just a museum piece

CTDOT counted more than 120,000 passengers in 2023 for this ferry plus its downriver sister, the Chester–Hadlyme ferry. So it's functioning as part of the local transportation network, as well as a historic attraction. It's not the only option for crossing, either. In May 2024, the office of Governor Ned Lamont announced the opening of the Putnam Bridge Trail Connection, which provides cyclists and pedestrians with a car-free crossing of the river a short distance upstream, linking Wethersfield, the town just north of Rocky Hill along the same stretch of riverbank, with Glastonbury, rather than Rocky Hill itself.

The ferry will never win a race, and that's what makes it intriguing. It survives because people continue to choose it, even when there is a faster alternative. That preference for a slower crossing, in a place with no shortage of quicker ones, is arguably the more interesting story here.