Hatton Ferry

James A. Brown began operating a store and ferry at this site on rented property in the late 1870s. In 1881 he bought the land from S. P. Gantt at which time the store became a stop on the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. Two years later, Brown was authorized to open a post office in his store, which was named Hatton for the young federal postal officer who signed the authorizing documents. The ferry is one of only two poled ferries still functioning in the continental United States.