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A ferry was made necessary by the road newly laid out from the country road west to the river to meet the new way on the west side leading to Spruce Creek and Portsmouth. This area is now known as Rice’s Bridge or where Route 1 crosses the York River. This became the post road to the west and south. It was operated by Thomas Trafton and his family for many years. For this reason it came to be known as Trafton’s Ferry.
In 1692, the first of the line of Trafton ferrymen was allowed two pence for a man and six pence for a horse and man. A pence in 1692 is about the value of 45 cents in U.S. money in 2025. In 1706, his son Benjamin was given the franchise in succession to his deceased father, but it is evident that he turned over the management of it that year as he was “in tending A vige to sea,” (meaning a sea voyage) for his father-in-law, William Beal, and two years later was granted the franchise for seven years. This expired in 1714 and Zaccheus Trafton, a younger son, received the privilege for twelve years from that date. In 1725 Charles Trafton, another son, succeeded to the family business. He operated it during the entire term of his grant.
At the annual town meeting in 1725 it was voted “that all the Inhabitants of this Town shall be Carried over any ferry in the town of York free of ferrige on the Lord’s Day; and all other publick Dayes and both horse and man for half pay at all other times.” This may have discouraged the ferryman and limited the number of persons willing to undertake the work. In 1736 the town empowered the Selectmen to lease the franchises of the ferries for the best interest of the town and henceforth, as there is little information of subsequent ferry operations and the eventual bridge across the river made it obsolete.