[1] Noland's Ferry, for which the site is named, has a broad history from the mid-1700s, with some of America's founding leaders among its customers.

The registration for the Catoctin Rural Historic District, section 8 page 3, states that "... As early as 1748 Philip Noland had established a ferry at the site...".

[5] Because the Potomac River is totally in Maryland, as is Noland's Island, approval from Virginia's House of Burgesses appears not to have been critical.

In the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, in an attempt to keep the fever out of Virginia, the governor ordered that Nolands and six other Potomac ferries limit travel for those coming from Philadelphia who were required to wait on the Maryland side of the river for six days and were only allowed to proceed if they were without symptoms.

In the 1700s, Noland's Ferry was a link between the Virginia and Maryland sections of the Carolina Road.

[7] Noland and Luckett family members were strong supporters of American independence.

[11] Sometime after the Revolutionary War ended, a large house was built on the grounds of the ferry and although construction was completed enough to be weathertight, key elements of the house were not finished, including interior woodwork and plaster.