Albemarle County has many wonderful historic sites, one of the rarest is the last of two remaining pole ferries in the country (located just south of Scottsville).
You can ride across a section of the James River on the Hatton Ferry, for free, between mid-April and October. The ferry was used by merchants and farmers who paid to travel back and forth across the river, from Albemarle to Buckingham County. Traded items included: wagons, buggies, horses, cattle, sheep, farm equipment, lumber, and farm produce. Moving goods from the eastern to the western side of the river enabled farmers and merchants to reach the railroad and the canal (located in Albemarle County, to the West). The ferry has sunk several times (in storms and floods), but operates today with the help of a father/son team. To read more about how the ferry works (i.e., how can a person use a fiberglass pole to propel a flat-bottomed boat containing an SUV) and about the fascinating characters who operated the ferry in times past, visit the Scottsville Museum site dedicated to the history of the Hatton Ferry.