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Date: 1895 Type: Hotel Status: Derelict   Click to view map Coordinates: 33°36'03.87" S 26°53'41.62" E Alt: 20m

Port Alfred was constructed along the banks of the Kowie River. It had a large fishing population and a sophisticated wharf was built where goods from all over the world could be traded. A ferry across the Kowie River was established which stopped at St Mary’s Well, the only fresh water in the area at the time. The last ferryman, Heinrich Samuel constructed a hotel on the site in 1895. Originally named the Cove Hotel it later became the Langdon and is currently the Ferryman's Hotel. 2019: Neglect and fire has turned this historic hotel into a derelict building where criminals hide. The Port Alfred Residents and Ratepayers Association together with a municipal delegation have been in discussions with the current owner, Johan Kleyn, who has undertaken to restore the hotel to its former glory but to date nothing has happened. (Edited and extracted from an article and opinion piece by Rob Knowles in Talk of the Town, 24 October 2019 submitted by Dorothy Adendorff)