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Ferry connecting Rising Sun and Rabbit Hash continues service after 70 years

4,755 views · Published 8 October 2018 · 2:47 · Indexed 26 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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RISING SUN, Ind. (WKRC) - It's been 70 years since there was last a ferry connecting Rising Sun, Ind. and Rabbit Hash, Ky., but Wednesday saw a new ferry resume that service.

The celebration included costumes from 1948, the last time a ferry made the trip between the two local cities.

"The small ferry boat that was at Rabbit Hash sank," Dan Lee, CEO of Full House Resorts, said. "The owner did not replace it."

The new ferry, called Miss Rising Sun, was put in by the company which owns Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, which until today was least geographically accessible casino in the area.

What used to be nearly an hour drive from Rabbit Hash via a bridge 20 miles away now takes four minutes to cross the Ohio River.

"It cut the distance from Florence or the airport in half," Lee said. "All of a sudden, we are the closest casino to many people that we were not close to before."

The casino company picked up the entire $1.7 million price tag for the ferry, with the hope that it'll make the money back from people like Candy McVey, looking for a shortcut to the slots.

"In the future, it might save time and gas and I'm looking forward to see if that happens," McVey said. "To get to the casino, strictly the casino."

Before officially launching today, the ferry had extensive practice before beginning revenue service.

"Our initial training has been in the worst possible conditions," Geoff Hatfield, the caption of the ferry, said. "The river has been high, lots of debris, big currents, the vessel and captains handled it as if it were a normal day's crossing."

The ferry runs seven days a week with one-way trips costing $5 and round-trip costing $8.

The name of the ferry will also officially change from "Miss Rising Sun" to "Lucky Lady" once some additional paperwork goes through.

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