It typical boom town fashion, everything was built fast and cheaply, and not maintained. It also had a post office, church, school, stores, and a saloon.
Located above the second shaft, this town of 1200 not only had bunkhouse living quarters but smaller single family homes for married workers. The mostly Irish workers lived in a hastily built community called Tunnel Hill. This way they could synchronize work on no less than 10 faces of the tunnel. Four shafts where dug from the top of the mountain, so that workers could be lowered down to begin work on the interior sections. They wanted the railway built fast and were willing to cut corners and be creative in their thinking. In order to speed up construction, it was to be built simultaneously in sections, but planners weren’t satisfied with only working on the two ends of the tunnel at the same time. Not only would it have been the longest tunnel built in the US at the time at over 5500 feet long, but unlike the nearby Middle Tunnel, it had to be cut through solid granite. Had it been completed, Stumphouse Tunnel would have been a marvel of 19 th Century construction. Of these tunnels, the one to be cut through Stumphouse Mountain was the most ambitious. Designers quickly realized that three tunnels would be needed to traverse this mountainous area. Construction progressed rapidly through most of the state until workers hit the mountains of Oconee County, South Carolina. Be sure to bring flashlights – the tunnel is really dark at the fat end and there aren’t any lights.Īfter several delays, work on the rail line finally began on the 1850’s. The entrance to Stumphouse Tunnel hand cut into the side of the mountain. It includes Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel and Middle. They hoped, that with modern construction techniques, they could provide a direct route from the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to ports in Charleston, Wilmington, and Savannah. Stumphouse Tunnel Complex is compromised of 40 acres of land and two acres of water. Their ambitious plan was to build the Blue Ridge Railroad, a rail line that would cut through the mountains in north western South Carolina. Merchants in Charleston, SC who relied on this flow of goods came up with a solution. An Ambitious Plan To Tunnel Through Stumphouse Mountain A faster more direct route was badly needed in order to support the fast growing region. That meant traveling by rail through Georgia in order to reach Charleston. In the early 19 th Century, the only practical way to get goods from the Ohio River Valley to ports along the coast was to completely bypass the Appalachian Mountains. Parking is located near the picnic shelters.Looking down the Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel in Walhalla, South Carolina, the centerpiece of Stumphouse Mountain Park.īefore the modern Interstate System was built, travel from the Midwest to the Atlantic seaboard was a long and demanding affair.
The Stumphouse Passage trailhead is located on Stumphouse Tunnel Road in Walhalla. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on these trails (e.g., motorized dirt bikes, motorcycles, and ATVs). Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel 4. The Stumphouse Mountain Bike Park is a much-needed destination for mountain biking in the upstate and is located at Stumphouse Tunnel Park in Walhalla. Because the trails are multipurpose, hikers and bikers are cautioned to follow trail directional signs and posted protocol for right-of-way. Phase three is in planning and is estimated to bring the total to 20+ trail miles over the next several years. Phase two adds another 6+ trail miles in the park, and these trails are now open. The Stumphouse Passage also features 2.5 miles of loop trails in the park that accommodate mountain biking and hiking. The Stumphouse Passage of the Palmetto Trail is an excellent 1.5-mile hiking/mountain biking trail for any skill level-the well-designed trail system offers scenic views of Crane Creek's numerous water features ( Issaqueena Falls is located closeby, as well).
0 kommentar(er)
