Tunnel Hill Heritage Center and Historic Railroad Tunnel

Tunnel Hill Heritage Center and Historic Railroad Tunnel Historic 1850 Railroad Tunnel and Museum One of the oldest railroad tunnels in the South; open 6 days a week. Visit the museum, walk the 1,477 ft.
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railroad tunnel, 1848 Clisby Austin House, 1900's era replica General Store, and enjoy the outdoors on walking paths through the 85+ acre site. Hours: 10:00am - 4:00pm Mon-Sat

Admission: $12 Deluxe Tour - Reservations suggested
$10 for children 4-10
Kids age 3 and under are free

Group Tours are available. Please visit http://www.civilwarrailroadtunnel.com/educational-groups.html for more information.

Step into history after dark! 🌙✨Join us for the Nighttime Tunnel Tour on September 18th & 19th. 8:00 PM is already SOLD ...
08/29/2026

Step into history after dark! 🌙✨

Join us for the Nighttime Tunnel Tour on September 18th & 19th. 8:00 PM is already SOLD OUT both days. Explore the mysterious tunnel by lantern light, hear fascinating stories, and experience the magic of the Carpet Capital’s most iconic landmark in a whole new way! Tickets: https://ow.ly/gcoZ50ZFgr3

George W. Disney (1827–1864) was born in England and immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Owensboro, ...
08/27/2026

George W. Disney (1827–1864) was born in England and immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Owensboro, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Confederate 1st Kentucky Infantry in 1861 and, after that regiment disbanded, joined Company K of the 4th Kentucky Infantry, part of the famous Kentucky “Orphan Brigade.” The nickname reflected the fact that Kentucky remained in the Union, leaving many Confederate Kentuckians unable to safely return home.

Disney saw action at Stones River, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. By early 1864, the 4th Kentucky was stationed along Rocky Face Ridge near Dalton.

On February 26, 1864, Union forces probed the Confederate defenses around Dalton. Members of the 4th Kentucky were ordered to form a “human telegraph line” down the ridge to relay reports of the fighting. According to fellow soldier Virginius Hutchen, Disney had been allowed to sleep late that morning. When soldiers tried to wake him, they discovered he was dead. While preparing his body for burial, they found a bullet hole in his head—Disney had apparently been struck by a stray bullet while sleeping.

He was buried where he died, with stones piled over his grave. Around 1911, a local Boy Scout troop hiking Rocky Face Ridge discovered the grave. Their scoutmaster later spoke with Hutchen and learned the remarkable story behind George W. Disney’s lonely grave on Rocky Face Ridge.

Sometime around 1848, Clisby (sometimes spelled Clisbe) Austin built the brick home he called “Meadowlawn.” By the 1860 ...
08/25/2026

Sometime around 1848, Clisby (sometimes spelled Clisbe) Austin built the brick home he called “Meadowlawn.” By the 1860 Agricultural Census, the Austin farm was valued at $7,000. On July 13, 1862, Austin sold the house and most of the property to William Jessup, an Augusta merchant who never lived there and advertised it for sale just seven months later.

The property finally sold in January 1868 to Dr. Robert C. Word of Atlanta, who moved to Tunnel Hill and worked as a farmer, physician, and insurance agent. The farm was still valued at $7,000 in the 1870 Agricultural Census. At an unknown date, Word sold the property to Judson Warlick, who sold it to Francis Quinn on December 31, 1879.

On March 23, 1887, C.A. and R.A. Hunt purchased the home and 120 acres. The Hunt family owned Meadowlawn until October 1969, making them its longest owners. Because of their 82 years there, many longtime locals still know the property as the Hunt House rather than the Austin House. One of the Hunt daughters also taught school in Tunnel Hill for many years.

The property was sold to Jake Godfrey in 1969 and became part of the Godfrey Land Development Company. On June 29, 1978, Kenneth Holcomb purchased the historic Austin home along with a portion of its original acreage.

Members of the Hunt Family in front of “Meadowlawn”

Charles Linton served as construction chief for the Western & Atlantic Railroad’s Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel and was com...
08/20/2026

Charles Linton served as construction chief for the Western & Atlantic Railroad’s Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel and was commonly referred to as the “chief tunneler.” Working alongside project engineer William L. Mitchell, Linton supervised the day-to-day construction and coordinated crews excavating from both sides of the mountain.

Under his supervision, the two crews met inside the mountain on October 31, 1849, with near-perfect alignment—an impressive engineering accomplishment for the time.

Little is known about Linton’s personal life. Records indicate that the Linton family came from England to Virginia, with members later settling in South Carolina and Georgia. While much of his story remains unknown, his role in successfully constructing the Chetoogeta Tunnel left a lasting mark on Georgia railroad history.

The Western & Atlantic Railroad was originally built with a five-foot track gauge, commonly known as the Southern gauge....
08/18/2026

The Western & Atlantic Railroad was originally built with a five-foot track gauge, commonly known as the Southern gauge. The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad used the same gauge, allowing trains and railcars to move seamlessly between the two lines at their shared Chattanooga depot.

Although Union forces converted many captured Southern railroads to the standard 4-foot, 8½-inch gauge during the Civil War, the W&A remained a broad-gauge railroad throughout the conflict.

That changed on May 31–June 1, 1886, when crews undertook a massive operation to convert all 138 miles of the W&A to standard gauge. Workers accomplished the change by moving one rail inward, bringing the railroad into alignment with the growing national standard.

W&A and N&C Depot Chattanooga

The Gray brothers used a modified version of the traditional English tunneling method to excavate Chetoogeta Mountain, h...
08/13/2026

The Gray brothers used a modified version of the traditional English tunneling method to excavate Chetoogeta Mountain, hiring Charles Linton as chief tunneler. The English method relied on picks, hand drills, hammers, and black powder to excavate short sections of the tunnel, which were then supported with timber before being lined with brick and stone.

The Grays improved the process by having brick masons build the tunnel's arched ceiling while miners followed behind constructing the stone sidewalls. Four rail tracks were also laid at each end of the tunnel—two upper tracks delivered brick and lumber, while two lower tracks carried away excavated rock and soil—making construction faster and more efficient.

Would you pay to watch two trains crash into each other? In 1896, nearly 40,000 people did just that in one of the most ...
08/11/2026

Would you pay to watch two trains crash into each other? In 1896, nearly 40,000 people did just that in one of the most unusual railroad events in American history.

Seeking publicity, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway built a temporary town called Crush, Texas, complete with grandstands, food vendors, and special excursion trains. The main attraction was a staged head-on collision between two retired steam locomotives traveling at nearly 45 miles per hour. Railroad officials assured the public the event would be completely safe.

On September 15, 1896, the locomotives thundered toward one another before colliding in a spectacular crash. But the impact produced an unexpected disaster when both boilers exploded, sending pieces of iron and steel flying into the crowd. Two spectators were killed, several others were seriously injured, and a photographer lost an eye.

Although the tragedy made national headlines, it did little to discourage similar events. Staged train wrecks remained popular attractions at fairs and exhibitions for decades, making the Crash at Crush one of the most famous—and deadliest—railroad publicity stunts in American history.
Railway crews pose with the two locomotives in 1896 near Waco, Texas, before the staged crash.

Railroad travel in the 1800s was fast—but it could also be dangerous. One such tragedy occurred at the Chetoogeta Tunnel...
08/06/2026

Railroad travel in the 1800s was fast—but it could also be dangerous. One such tragedy occurred at the Chetoogeta Tunnel on March 7, 1881, when two Western & Atlantic Railroad freight trains collided just outside the east portal of the tunnel.

The accident happened after a crew was mistakenly told the track ahead was clear, even though another section of a freight train was still on the line. The trains met head-on at slow speed, destroying both locomotives and blocking the railroad for hours.

Two railroad men were seriously injured. Fireman Ben Yancey survived despite suffering severe injuries, while William Wilder, who was traveling to Atlanta to begin work on the Western & Atlantic Railroad, sustained catastrophic injuries and later died.

The Tunnel Hill wreck serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by 19th-century railroads. Before centralized dispatching and automatic signals, train movements relied on telegraph messages, timetables, and the judgment of railroad employees. A single mistake could place two trains on the same track—with tragic consequences.

John Thomas Wilder was born in Hunter, New York, in the Catskill Mountains and moved west at age 19 to begin a career as...
08/04/2026

John Thomas Wilder was born in Hunter, New York, in the Catskill Mountains and moved west at age 19 to begin a career as a millwright in Columbus, Ohio. By 1857, he had settled in Indiana, where he founded a successful iron foundry. Wilder became nationally known for his hydraulic inventions, including a patented water wheel, and for designing and building mills.

When the Civil War began, Wilder organized an artillery company and cast two cannons in his own foundry before being commissioned as captain of the 17th Indiana Infantry. He quickly rose to colonel and, in February 1863, took command of the mounted infantry unit that became famous as Wilder's Lightning Brigade. (See the previous post for more about the brigade's history and its connection to Tunnel Hill.)

After the war, Wilder settled in Rockwood and later Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he operated blast furnaces, founded an ironworks company, and manufactured railroad rails. He served briefly as mayor of Chattanooga before returning to business full time.

Wilder died in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 20, 1917, while on his annual winter vacation. He is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, and Wilder Tower at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park honors him and the stand made by his Lightning Brigade during the Battle of Chickamauga.

Address

215 Clisby Austin Drive
Tunnel Hill, GA
30755

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(706) 876-1571

Website

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