Haunting tunnel sits quietly in Green County woods – WMTV

TOWN OF EXETER, Wis., (WMTV) — A massive and somewhat haunting piece of Wisconsin history sits quietly in the woods in rural Green County.

The Stewart Tunnel is .25 of a mile long, 21 feet high, and 14 feet wide. The tunnel is used by bikers, hikers, and runners as a part of the Badger State Trail.

“(My children and I) discovered this kind of by accident, so I think its real fun,” said Mark Sturnick, a science teacher and naturalist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The Stewart Tunnel was built back in the late 1880’s as a railway tunnel to connect Freeport, Illinois to Madison.

“Some of the workers were local farmers who joined the construction crews to supplement their earnings during the severe drought of 1887. Each worker was paid $1.25 per day,” according to the DNR’s website.

The tunnel is located in the town of Exeter, just a few miles south of Belleville. Sturnick says about 200 men worked on the project. They removed about 250,000,000 pounds of limestone rock from the ridge.

“They drilled by hand, they placed with dynamite and black powder at the time and set it off. Some people were hurt, some people died,” added Sturnick.

In the 1990’s, the rail tracks were removed and eventually the tunnel became a part of the Badger State Trail. Now, cyclists, runners, and hikers can venture into the pitch-black tunnel and come out the other side.

“There’s a two degree curve to the tunnel, so you can’t see the far end as you go in,” said Sturnick.

If you’re looking to cool off this summer, the Stewart Tunnel is good place to check out.

“Actually, it’s a good place to duck into in the summer. My thermometer went down to the 50’s when I rode through this morning,” said Sturnick.

According to the DNR, the tunnel is named after James Stewart of Pennsylvania who was a contractor for the project. He was thrown from a buggy and killed while following the proposed route and the tunnel was named in his memory.

If you want to find out more about the Stewart Tunnel, visit this website https://bit.ly/2SHgePG