Industrial History: NS/Southern/WNCR 1877-79 Swannanoa Tunnel in Ridgecrest, NC

West Portal: (Satellite)

East Portal: (Satellite)

WNCR = Western North Carolina Railroad

At 1,832' long, this is the longest of seven tunnels built for the WNCR. 500 convicts were leased from the state to provide the labor. Most were African-Americans, many of them serving just misdemeanor sentences. 125 men were killed digging this tunnel and 300 were killed building the railroad. They were simply buried along the tracks. [ncpedia, BitterSoutherner]

"Convict labor became almost the sole form of labor on the railroad. Free workers were rare in the area, and were only used in a few key supervisory and specialist roles. The contractors leased the convicts from the state, which also provided guards, overseers, and support facilities. Most of the prisoners were black, about 25 years of age. Their average sentence was for four years....Female convicts did the washing, mending, and cooking for their male counterparts. Bacon, beef, corn bread, peas, potatoes, and onions made up the diet. The daily ration consisted of a half pound of bacon, 22 ounces of meal, a third-pound of peas or a pound of potatoes, and coffee. Four pounds of rye were added to each pound of coffee. All supplies were purchased locally" The technique pioneered by the Hoosac Tunnel of digging the top of the tunnel as the heading and then removing the bench was used. Removal of the bench trailed the heading's advance by 25' to 30'. The debris was removed using carts. [HAER NC,11-RIDG.V,1-]

State Archives of North Carolina via ncpedia and NCmarkers

Nitroglycerine was used to help dig this tunnel, marking an early use of that explosive. An engineer created a paste using nitroglycerine, sawdust and cornmeal. [NCmarkers, ncpedia]

It was rebuilt in 1963.