NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The Hoosac Tunnel is an engineering landmark. Finished in 1874, it runs under the Hoosac Mountains, connecting the town of Florida to North Adams via rail.

Wigwam Western Summit co-owner, Lea King, recently partnered with North Adams History Musuem president, Chuck Cahoon, to produce a new booklet on the tunnel’s history, titled "The Hoosac Tunnel: 19th Century engineering Marvel."

What You Need To Know

  • A new booklet, "The Hoosac Tunnel: 19th Century engineering Marvel," details the Hoosac Tunnel’s history

  • The tunnel is nearly five miles long, and runs under the Hoosac mountains connecting Florida, Mass. and North Adams via rail

  • The booklet tells the story of the miners who built the tunnel and the many inventions needed to build it

  • One of the booklet’s writers, Lea King, hopes it will renew interest in the landmark’s story

“Chuck opened up not only the museum, but also the North Adams Public Library’s archive for me to get information,” King said. “And this book, although it’s not big, it’s full of details.”

King’s interest in the tunnel’s history was sparked by a seemingly constant barrage of questions from her customers once she opened her store two years ago.

“They would ask me, ‘Where is the Hoosac Tunnel? Do you know the history of the Hoosac Tunnel?’ Kings said. “And 2019 was the first year of our operation, and I simply didn’t have time.”

When the pandemic hit, the store was forced to close, and King found she finally had the time to dig into it.

Some of the details in the booklet include the story of the miners who built the tunnel, the tragic accidents which claimed nearly 200 miners lives, and the many inventions created to eventually complete the almost five-miles of railway.

“They started in 1850 with nothing but manual drills and hammers, and ended with all of these inventions,” King said. “For example, nitroglycerine. That was invented by a gentleman by the name of Ascanio Sobrero in Italy. However, it was not pure. The purification process was invented here in the Berkshires.”

Along with the booklet, King has stocked her store with Hoosac Tunnel merchandise, with the hope of sparking interest in the landmark, and passing the story on to a new generation.

“This is something that people in the Berkshires should be really proud of. And to take pride in something like that, you need to firstly know,” King said. “And we hope that by bringing this little booklet to light, we can get children interested. And when children become interested, then we have a future in telling this great history story.”