Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls

Today C3 visited Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaquenna Falls! The tunnel was pretty cool and we learned some interesting South Carolina history.

Construction of the tunnel started in 1856. The tunnel was going to cut through the mountains in order to complete a new rail road that would span from South Carolina to Tennessee. By 1859 the state of South Carolina had spent over 1 million dollars on the tunnel project and refused to spend a dollar more. The tunnel was never finished; it only goes part way through the mountain.

The tunnel sat empty for many years. In 1950 Clemson University bought the land because the tunnel was a perfect location to make and store blue cheese. The tunnel stays a consistent 50 degrees. In 1970 the cheese was no longer made or stored in the tunnel, Clemson University recreated an air conditioned room that duplicated the conditions of the tunnel.

Now the tunnel is open to people like us to explore! It was cool, however we forgot our flash light. We only walked about half way in before deciding to head back. It was getting too dark to see and we were the only people in the tunnel.... as far as we could tell.

Within walking distance to the tunnel is Issaqueena Falls. The path to the falls only goes down a bit, so i don't feel there is a good spot to really see the falls. Plus the path was right next to a rather steep ledge, so Colton had to sit on Casey's shoulders. There is no way i would have let him run free around the Waterfall.

We had a good Saturday afternoon visiting the tunnel and falls. Tomorrow it is due to rain all day, so we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful winter weather today.