Aside from underpasses on the highway system, South Carolina is virtually devoid of tunnels. But there is one (partial) tunnel that has a very interesting backstory. It’s called Stumphouse Tunnel, reportedly named for a Cherokee woman who lived on the mountain it passes under. Stumphouse Tunnel was to be one of three tunnels on a planned new route for the Blue Ridge Railroad that connected Charleston to the Ohio River Valley in the mid-1800s.
In 1856, a London company imported scores of Irish workers to hand cut the tunnel through the mountain.
What was left was a tunnel that was only 27 percent complete, or 1,617 feet of a very roughly cut tunnel large enough for loaded train cars to pass through.
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After the state abandoned the tunnel project in the latter part of the 1850s, the tunnel was used by Clemson University.
And they did so until around 1970, when they were able to replicate the same environment found in the tunnel in an indoor facility using air conditioning.
Today, visitors to the tunnel can't access the very end because of the wall put in place during the tunnel's cheese making days. But it's still a fantastic place to explore.
Be sure to bring a flashlight, and if visiting in the rainy season, a pair of dry shoes.
It's surprising how small you'll feel in this enormous space. And don't worry if you get an uneasy vibe. Some people insist the tunnel is haunted by the souls of workers that died from horrible accidents during the tunnel's construction. But nothing nefarious and related to the paranormal has ever happened to visitors to the site.
If you're up for a challenge when you're there, you can try to scramble up to the top of the mountain (it's really a hill, not a huge mountain).
Stumphouse Tunnel Park is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Admission is $5 per vehicle and includes parking. Learn more from the official website for the Visit Oconee County.
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