---
title: "St. Johns River Ferry"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/89fedeab-757f-4465-a99c-6a8488b7bce8
source_url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johns_River_Ferry"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/travel/stack/d87cf515-6436-41e1-85e7-507d04e482fb
summary: "The St. Johns River Ferry, also known as the Mayport Ferry, is an automobile ferry operating since 1874 that crosses the St. Johns River between Mayport and Fort George Island in Jacksonville, Florida. The ferry has changed operators multiple times, moving from the Florida Department of Transportation to the City of Jacksonville, then the Jacksonville Port Authority, and finally the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in 2016."
tags: "ferry, st-johns-river, jacksonville, mayport, transportation, florida, automobile-ferry"
key_entities: "St. Johns River (location), Jacksonville, Florida (location), Mayport (location), Fort George Island (location), Jean Ribault (person), Jacksonville Transportation Authority (organization), Jacksonville Port Authority (organization), Florida Department of Transportation (organization), Charlie Crist (person), John Peyton (person), State Road A1A (location), Dames Point Bridge (location), East Coast Greenway (concept), Jean Lafitte (person)"
classification: "reference"
content_hash: "sha256:e52d8d8a178d01eadf562f32d047db80e8012722628f42312f9eb2ee403b61eb"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 1908
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# St. Johns River Ferry

Coordinates : 30°23′44″N 81°26′00″W / 30.395504°N 81.433341°W / 30.395504; -81.433341 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from St. Johns River Ferry ) Automobile ferry in Jacksonville, Florida, US The Mayport Ferry Jean Ribault vessel, named after Jean Ribault , French explorer, first European to see the St. John's River and founder of French Florida . [ 1 ] : 843 The Saint Johns River Ferry , also known as the Mayport Ferry , is an automobile ferry between Mayport and Fort George Island , two areas within Jacksonville, Florida . The 0.9 miles (1.4 km) voyage crosses the Saint Johns River about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) inland of the river's mouth and travels in an east-west direction for approximately 2,000 feet (610 m) on State Road A1A . It departs every half-hour. Mayport's on the southern side and Fort Geroge Islands on the northern side. The alternate driving route uses the toll-free Dames Point Bridge on I-295 but is 28 miles (45 km) long. The ferry has been operating since 1874. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] These vessels operated in the ferry fleet: primary: Jean Ribault , built 1996, 40 vehicles, 206 passengers. [ 4 ] stand-by: Blackbeard , built 1956, 42 vehicles, 207 passengers. [ 5 ] Additional ferries which were in service included the Jean LaFitte (named after French privateer Jean Lafitte ), which was a 26-car ferry, the Reliance , the Sirus . U.S.Coast Guard documents these vessels; some of the older ferries have been renamed to pass inspection. The history of the ferry dates back to 1874 according to the New York Times [ link removed ] and the Library of Congress. The Florida Department of Transportation , which had always operated the service, had the Mayport Ferry line item budget vetoed by Governor Charlie Crist for 2007-2008. [ 6 ] The City of Jacksonville had been contributing $200,000-300,000 for several years, so instead of allowing the service to end, the City of Jacksonville assumed full responsibility. However, they lost over $1 million in one year, and Mayor John Peyton announced that there was insufficient money available in the new budget. The Jacksonville Port Authority took over operation of the ferry for 2007 and lost $500,000 each year, but uses port revenue, not tax money, to underwrite the operation. [ 7 ] After taking over, the JPA decided to cut costs and sell the Blackbeard , the backup vessel built in 1956. That meant that whenever the Jean Ribault had problems, ferry service would be suspended. On February 5, 2009 the ferry was put into dry dock for routine maintenance , but hull corrosion required an extra week of repairs, and there was no service for a month. [ 8 ] On March 31, 2016, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority took over permanent ownership and operation of the ferry. The ferry helps connect segments of the East Coast Greenway , a 3000 mile long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida. On May 4, 2025, Jean Ribault collided with a boarding ramp on the St. Johns River while departing from Mayport. No injuries were reported but the ferry was taken out of service. [ 9 ] The ferry returned to service on June 13. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] Memorial [ edit ] The United States Merchant Marine Memorial stands on the ferry grounds on the Mayport side. The Memorial was erected on September 14, 1999. References [ edit ] ↑ "The Sea Islands". Harper's New Monthly Magazine . 57 : 839– 861. 1878. ↑ 1874 ↑ "St. Johns River Ferry Jacksonville" Yahoo Travel guide ↑ http://photos.marinetraffic.com/ais/showphoto.aspx?photoid=647049 ↑ https://archive.today/20130121171644/http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/958/90054204.JPG ↑ Manwell, Frank: "Steamboat Bill, 2007" Encyclopædia Britannica, S. E. AND GULF PORTS ↑ Dixon, Drew: "Mayport ferry ridership down, some worried service could go away" Florida Times-Union, July 1, 2009 ↑ Dixon, Drew: "A month and $940,000 later, Mayport ferry back in service" Florida Times-Union, March 7, 2009 ↑ "Jean Ribault" . Shipwreck Log. May 6, 2025 . Retrieved May 5, 2025 . ↑ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ARW1vNSQo/ . {{ cite web }} : Missing or empty | title= ( help ) ↑ Bauerlein, David. "St. Johns River Ferry will restart trips June 13 after weeks-long shutdown" . The Florida Times-Union . External links [ edit ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mayport Ferry . Official website 30°23′44″N 81°26′00″W / 30.395504°N 81.433341°W / 30.395504; -81.433341 [[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]: {{#parsoid\u0000fragment:13}}<span class=\"plainlinks nourlexpansion\">[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Mayport_Ferry&params=30.395504_N_81.433341_W_region:US_type:landmark <span class=\"geo-nondefault\"><span class=\"geo-dms\" title=\"Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location\"><span class=\"latitude\">30°23′44″N</span> <span class=\"longitude\">81°26′00″W</span></span></span><span class=\"geo-multi-punct\"> / </span><span class=\"geo-default\"><span class=\"geo-dec\" title=\"Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location\">30.395504°N 81.433341°W</span><span style=\"display:none\"> / <span class=\"geo\">30.395504; -81.433341</span></span></span>]</span>[[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]</span>"}}'/> v t e Bridges and tunnels in Florida Panhandle Bob Sikes Brooks Escambia Bay Garcon Point John Gorrie Mid-Bay Navarre Beach Pensacola Bay St. George Island Trammell Victory North Acosta Bridge of Lions Buckman L.E. 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Kinney Port of Miami Ferries Drayton Island Fort Gates Mayport Lists List of bridges in Florida List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida List of movable bridges in Florida List of toll bridges in Florida † – Covered bridge ‡ – Swing bridge Crossings of the St. Johns River Upstream Dames Point Bridge Mayport Ferry Downstream Atlantic Ocean Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mayport_Ferry&oldid=1366052220 " Categories : Ferries of Florida Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida Crossings of the St. Johns River 1874 establishments in Florida Northside, Jacksonville French-American culture in Florida Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Use mdy dates from February 2025 Use American English from January 2025 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Deprecated archive template links CS1 errors: missing title CS1 errors: bare URL Commons category link is on Wikidata Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas Coordinates on Wikidata