The Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel () refers to two different

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

passing through Chetoogeta Mountain in

Tunnel Hill, Georgia Tunnel Hill is a town in northwest Whitfield County and southern Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 963 at the 2020 census. The town is named for the Chetoogeta Mou ...

, United States. The first tunnel, known as the Western and Atlantic Railroad Tunnel at Tunnel Hill, was completed on May 7, 1850, as part of the construction of the

Western & Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was fo ...

(W & A), the first

state road A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in Georgia. It was the first major railroad tunnel in the South and is 1,447 feetGeorgia Railway article-Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel
Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage(railga.com), Retrieved 29 March 2011/ in length. It was renovated in 1998-2000 and is now open to the public as a privately owned

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

.Western & Atlantic Railroad Tunnel
Tunnel Hill Heritage Center, Retrieved 29 March 2011 It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2002. The second tunnel was built from 1926 to 1928 and is 1,557 feetTunnel Hill, Georgia
roadsidegeorgia.com. Retrieved 29 March 2011/ long. It is still in use by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

, under

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

from the

Georgia Department of Transportation The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developin ...

. It, like the entire W & A

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

, is a major route between

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. The nearby town of

(originally Tunnelsville) was created and named for the first tunnel, and was the supply base for its construction materials and worker

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

. Two historic events occurred here during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

; first the

Great Locomotive Chase The Great Locomotive Chase (also known as Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. And ...

and second a battle between union and confederate forces during the Atlanta Campaign. The first occurred on April 12, 1862, when a civilian scout,

James J. Andrews James J. Andrews (c. 1829 – June 7, 1862) was a Kentucky civilian who worked for the Union Army during the early years of the American Civil War. He led a daring raid behind enemy lines on the Western and Atlantic Railroad, known as the ...

, led 22 volunteer Union soldiers from three Ohio regiments: the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

, 21st, and

33rd Ohio Infantry The 33rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 33rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Portsmouth, Ohio, from August 5 through September 13, 1861. It was mustered in fo ...

. Also named Andrews' Raid, the near suicide mission went deep into Confederate territory, where the men stole the locomotive named the General. The men were pursued by another train, the Texas, and Confederate forces. Andrews and company made it north of this location before they ran out of water and steam to run the locomotive, where they abandoned the train. Many of the men, including Andrews, were hanged in Atlanta. The second incident was a minor skirmish on May 6 and 7, 1864 between invading Union and Confederate forces. Union forces were generally invading and securing the rail lines as they progressed towards Atlanta. Confederate pickets were posted to delay advancing troops.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel
Georgia Railway article-Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel

Tunnel Hill Heritage Center

Buildings and structures in Whitfield County, Georgia 1850 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1928 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) CSX Transportation tunnels Railroad tunnels in Georgia (U.S. state) Louisville and Nashville Railroad Tunnels completed in 1850 Tunnels completed in 1928 Transportation in Whitfield County, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in Whitfield County, Georgia Tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places

See also

References

External links