Bonelli's Ferry
Bonelli's Ferry or Old Bonelli Ferry was a Colorado River ferry between Arizona and Nevada, located on the Colorado just above the Virgin River near to Junction City, later known as Rioville, Nevada in the late nineteenth century.History
Bonelli's Ferry replaced Stone's Ferry, 2 miles down river, when the flatboat ferry at Stones Ferry was bought by a settler who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from St. Thomas, Nevada named Daniel Bonelli in 1870. He moved up river to near Junction City in 1876 at the mouth of the Virgin River. The ferry boat was pulled over the river by a man with a rope line. A wagon and 2 persons were charged $10.00 to cross, and $0.50 for each additional person. The ferry connected the road to the mining camps like Cerbat and Mineral Park, and to the Hardyville - Prescott Road, in Mohave County, Arizona to the road to the settlements on the Muddy and Virgin Rivers in Nevada and Southwestern Utah that supplied the camps.
Bonelli's Ferry was destroyed by a flood in 1904, the same year Daniel Bonelli died. However his son, rebuilt and ran the ferry at least until the 1920s. A ferry remained in use at the site until 1935 when Lake Mead began to rise.Today
The site of Bonelli's Ferry like that of Rioville is now under Lake Mead.
