'Icon of Talbot County' is looking for new ownership

OXFORD — The Oxford Bellevue Ferry is open and ready for the 2024 season. Capts. Judy and Tom Bixler are sailing through the waters to provide residents and tourists a chance to experience this “Icon of Talbot County.”

Judy Bixler said she and her husband have been leading the ferry for over 20 years. Now, they are looking to find someone to whom they can pass on the legacy of the ferry, someone who will maintain its historic status.

“It’s really a great job,” Bixler said. “We love what we do, and we hate to give it up in one sense, but our grandchildren are getting older, and we’d like to have some time to spend with them.”

Judy Bixler said she and Tom are a small part of the Oxford Bellevue Ferry’s long, beautiful life.

The Oxford Bellevue Ferry is America’s oldest privately owned ferry. Its original ownership was established in 1683. As its name implies, the ferry provides transportation services for vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles and passengers between the incorporated town of Oxford and the historic working community of Bellevue.

It has plied the waters of the Tred Avon River for over three centuries, providing another entrance into Oxford by water and a shortcut to St. Michaels and Tilghman when leaving Oxford.

It has been named one of the top 25 bicycle routes in the USA for many years.

Thanks to the Oxford Museum and a grant from Maryland Humanities, signs depicting the 341-year history of the ferry are displayed along the bulkhead, offering a history lesson with the trip.

Judy Bixler said she enjoys the ability to use the ferry as a tool to help nonprofit organizations raise money and bring the Talbot community together. Through ferry racing, the Bixlers raised money for the Oxford Fire Department, for the Richardson Museum and for a cancer foundation.

Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism Director Cassandra Vanhooser said that Judy and Tom Bixler are a staple of the ferry.

“Capt. Judy and Capt. Tom are the face of hospitality for so many visitors that come to Talbot County,” Vanhooser said. “They are terrific ambassadors, and I can’t say enough great things about them.”

Vanhooser said they are on the hunt for the next ambassador for the ferry. Although she doesn’t like the idea of not having the Bixlers leading the ferry, she knows that another ambassador will hold the same love for the ferry that Judy and Tom Bixler have.

“It’s hard for us who have such love and affection for them to think about a ferry without them, but there will be another keeper of the ferry,” Vanhooser said.

Ray Stevens, an Oxford resident, said that Tom and Judy Bixler are great stewards of the ferry and will be missed for all the great work they have done for the ferry and the county.

“The ferry is a staple of the community,” Stevens said. “It’s been owned these last few years by Tom and Judy Bixler, who have just taken care of it and used it to benefit so many things in Oxford and Talbot County.”