An Abandoned Tunnel That Was Carved By Irish Immigrants During The 1800's And Was Never Finished Due To Lack Of Funding\
With each step into the Stumphouse tunnel in Walhalla South Carolina, you walk toward the black space, and the light behind you at the entrance grows smaller and smaller. In darkness, such as this, little things can make anyone jump, and the sounds of the dripping water from the ground above become amplified as they bounce off the close walls of the tunnel.
“Digging a passage through a mountain seemed like a quick way to speed up the railroad layout in the 1800’s but the Stumphouse Tunnel planners weren’t ready for the hefty cost,” said Jill Brown, historian for the South Carolina Department of Parks. “The tunnel was originally planned by the people of Charleston, South Carolina as an alternative to routing their railroads around the mountains blocking them from the Ohio River area but after spending over a million dollars on the project, the South Carolina government cut funding for the excavation and the tunnel was abandoned.”
It’s open to visitors now, but only about the first 550 feet. The rest of the 1,617- foot passage was closed off in 2009, when several boulders fell from the ceiling to the pools of water and gravel below. But going even 550 feet is enough to make visitors a little jump. A path along the middle of the tunnel keeps shoes out of the pools of dark water, and the light of a flashlight on the walls reveals the pockmarks of picks heaved by the arms of the Irish immigrants who began digging out the tunnel about 160 years ago.
They Irish came here Oconee County in 1853 to begin carving through Stumphouse Mountain as part of a railroad project to take trains from Charleston, South Carolina, to Knoxville, Tennessee, and back again. Miners equipped with hand drills, black powder, hammers, chisels, and picks slowly made their way through the blue granite mountain. Despite 12-hour workdays, the miners passed through only 200 feet of rock every month. Unmarked graves near the first air shaft memorialize those who lost their lives constructing this tunnel that would never be finished.
“In the 1950s, nearby Clemson University used the tunnel’s cool, stable temperature for aging blue cheese.,” Brown said. “You can still see the brick wall and gate the students installed to keep their cheese safe from visitors.”
The tunnel was later part of a sale to a developer, who planned to build a development on the mountain, cutting off the community’s access to the landmark. The people of Walhalla came together to buy back the land, keeping the tunnel open to the public. It has since remained a popular tourist destination, a reminder of the past, and a source of curiosity for people such as Lyle, his friends, and anybody else who wants to know what it’s like to take steps into the dark.
Currently the almost 1,700 feet of unused tunnel is maintained as a public park and visitors are welcome to explore the shallow mountain incursion, however there are bats living in the cave which may send explorers running from the site just like the rail workers.
“The park consists of two main attractions, Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls, short easy walking trail leads from Stumphouse Mountain Park to Issaqueena Falls, a beautiful 200-ft. cascade,” Brown explained. “Legend has it that the Indian maiden, Issaqueena, rode to the nearby fort to warn of a pending Indian attack and then escaped pursuing Indians by pretending to leap over the falls, but actually hiding beneath them.”
The darkness of the tunnel isn’t for everyone, so hiking the Blue Ridge Railroad Trail at Issaqueena Falls, one of the lesser trekked trails in Oconee County is an option. It's marked by a small sign and yellow trail blazers. The moderately strenuous trail is about 4.5 miles round trip and follows along the railroad grade approach to Stumphouse Tunnel. Forgetting bug spray is not an option as some of the trail is a little overgrown and spiders and ticks are prevalent.
Today, picnic shelters, hiking trails and winding shallow steams are available for visitors, but for those with claustrophobic tendencies, the tunnel probably isn’t the best idea.
Candice Reed
A graduate of Kelsey-Jenny College in Communications as well as a certified grant writer, Candice has written for The Los Angeles Times & The New York Times. She loves entertaining and all things French.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Elijah State Park, located on the western shore of 70,000-acre Clarks Hill Lake. Cottages are located on the lake's edge, and the spacious campground is nestled into the forest.