The Church Hill Tunnel

Church Hill tunnel east entrance (c. 1900)

Church Hill Tunnel east entrance (2017)

Church Hill Tunnel west entrance (1872, during construction)

Church Hill Tunnel west entrance (2017)

Name of the Site: Church Hill Tunnel

Date of Construction: Feb 1, 1872- Dec 11, 1873

Reason for construction:

Fully constructed in 1873, the Church Hill Tunnel was part of the Reconstruction effort in Richmond. The Chesapeake Ohio Railway wanted to facilitate train traffic from the James River ports to the C&O Railroads on Seventeenth St.

Brief history of the site:

Richmond, as the former capital of the Confederacy, had been left in ruins following the rebels’ destruction of government buildings, homes, and bridges by fire to destroy anything that would be of use to the Union at the end of the Civil War. In addition, the city lacked an efficient railroad system which greatly inhibited Richmond’s growth during Reconstruction. On February 1, 1872, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway began construction of the Church Hill tunnel, which would begin near Shockoe Creek near Nineteenth street, run under Jefferson Park, cross under Broad Street, pass near St. John’s Church, and come out near Chimborazo Park- stretching across 10 blocks. The tunnel’s construction would enable a connection between the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad tracks in Shockoe Valley and the docks on the James River at Rocketts Landing. From the beginning of the tunnel’s construction, it proved to be an unsteady project. Multiple cave ins and small incidents resulted in the death of reportedly ten workers, as the land that made up the Church Hill area was largely shifty and unstable. The project was officially completed on December 11, 1873. The David Anderson train was the first to journey through the tunnel. The tunnel soon fell into disuse, as the shallow water of the James River did not allow for the movement of large, oceangoing vessels into Richmond. With the construction of a new viaduct in Richmond and laying of railroad tracks leading to the Tidewater ports, the tunnel was rarely used. In 1902, the last scheduled train traveled through the tunnel, and in 1915, the tunnel was deemed unsafe and the city closed it off until 1925.

In the early 1920s, rail traffic had increased significantly on the C&O, so the decision was made to restore the tunnel to service. On October 2, 1925, C&O locomotive no. 231 entered the tunnel to begin repairs. The train was nearing the western portal of the tunnel at Eighteenth Street when bricks began to fall from the tunnel ceiling. The falling bricks broke the electrical connections, and the tunnel became dark. Train workers at the eastern portal about a mile from locomotive 231 felt a sharp swoosh of air, and were able to escape to the outside. Soon after, 190 feet of the 4,000 foot tunnel collapsed. Some men were able to dive under the train car and crawl out of the tunnel, however many were not as lucky. Chaos ensued outside of the tunnel. A carpenter provided an eyewitness account of the minutes following the disaster: “Men passed me screaming and fighting. Some of them yelled that they had knives and would cut anybody that got in their way. The confusion lasted for a long time it seems. There were no lights. Men ran back and forth bewildered. Some of them ran toward the cave-in. Others butted their heads into the sidewalls, fell over the ties and rails and knocked each other down. We were without knowing what had happened or what was going to happen.” It is unknown how many men died in the collapse, however many Richmonders refer to the tunnel as a “tomb,” as the train and men trapped within it have never been retrieved. Rescue efforts on that day resulted in additional cave-ins, and despite Richmond’s racial segregation at the time, whites and blacks alike stood around the tunnel waiting for any kind of news from officers. Such an excavation today could result in an additional collapse, one that could take a significant portion of Church Hill down with it- a risk that Richmond is not ready or willing to take. Eventually, on October 11, workers reached a flatcar by slowly and laboriously digging through the ground. They were then able to reach the engine of the train, where they found Tom Mason, the head engineer, dead. No more bodies could be found. Further rescue efforts were deemed futile, and railroad officials decided that the tunnel, along with the train car and men within it, would be filled with sand and closed off forever. The Richmond Times Dispatch recorded the train’s obituary, in which it was stated that “The train might not be seen for another geological epoch when men of a new civilization discover a relic of the Twentieth Century in what once was the blue marl of Church Hill.”

Brief history of the surrounding area:

The story of Church Hill is one defined by the socioeconomics of settlement patterns. It begins in 1737 when Col. Byrd (or Major William Mayo, as there is some dispute) included the area in the original grid plan for Richmond. The Hill’s first years saw minimal ownership and usage, the only establishment being St John’s Church that was built in 1741. Isaac Coles was the first man to ever hold land in the area. It was eventually parceled and sold to one Richard Adams. Adams began the actual building of a neighborhood sometime around 1788. Shortly after Adams also sectioned off his own land with the hopes that settlers would move east. In the 1810s, the wealthier of Richmond began to erect homes in the Church Hill area. The most elite lived in the St John’s Church district, while a substantial population of tradesmen and craftsmen inhabited Northern Church Hill. Settlement increased slowly and surely through the Panic of 1819 and into the 1830s. The 1840s saw the next influx homebuilders as a result from economic flourishing. Railroads, iron industry, and increased mobility of the upper tier in Richmond created the push east. This ease of transport did not spread to most other citizens, however, and the area was still rather isolated from other parts of Richmond. By the 1840s and 50s, houses were being built closer and closer together due to the rise in population. These decades also saw the establishment of Lee Street Baptist Church, a pinnacle of Church Hill heritage and history. During the Civil War, little growth occurred in the area, and afterwards the first of two distinct socio economic shifts that have since defined Church Hill’s history came about. Although the bustling economy of Richmond, partly due to the tobacco industry, continued to thrive, as demonstrated by the building of the Church Hill tunnel in the 1870s to continue augmenting growth, the upper class began to move out of the area that once defined their prestige. In her book “Neighborhoods of Richmond,” Mary Wingfield Scott mourns the loss of the beautiful ante-bellum housing and the “decline of the neighborhood” “to near-slum condition.” The majority of whites moved out of the neighborhood between 1890 and 1930, partly because of expansion west, and partly because of legislative segregation not mentioned by Scott.

The above paragraph on the history of Church Hill was primarily written using Mary Wingfield Scott’s book and the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Church Hill North district. Both sources neglect to explain why major shifts in population demographics occurred between 1890-1930. The truth of the matter does not lie wholly in westward expansion or simply the whims of the upper class, but instead purposeful segregation of the city. This trend began when African American men were given the right to vote in 1871. The government adjusted the districts of the city so as to concentration all African American voters in the Jackson Ward area and gerrymander their votes. The precedent was enhanced with the coming of the streetcars in 1888 that allowed wealthy citizens to flee to suburbs while poor blacks were left in the city center. Between 1911 and 1948, legislative residential segregation was used, legally or not, despite being repeatedly declared unconstitutional. Other policies such as blockbusting, steering, and redlining further separated whites and blacks. The 1940s and 50s saw a huge increase in the use of Federal public housing in Richmond. These were concentrated in the Church Hill area and examples remain, such as Mosby, Fairfield, and Creighton. This timeline aligns with the one presented above and shows that white flight was not an accident.

In the 1990s and into the 21st century, a new trend of gentrification has arisen. As the historic buildings of Church Hill became more fashionable to urban homeowners, they returned to Church Hill. This in part shows an upward trend for the small businesses of the area, but it also presents a worsening in the station of African Americans forced, especially through recent foreclosure crisis, into public housing while white people infiltrate the area. The Church Hill tunnel came at the cusp of this burgeoning problem in the 1870s, and partly fell into disuse because of the movement of businesses from the area along with white flight. In some ways it is represents an area in Limbo, constantly defined by demographic and socioeconomic gaps.

What about the site has changed?

Since the tunnel’s collapse in 1925, both portals have been addressed in different ways. The West Portal, also known as the North Portal, is situated on North Eighteenth Street. This entrance has been sealed with a slab of concrete engraved with the year 1926, which marks the year when the tunnel was officially closed. Situated feet from the tunnel’s entrance is the Shockoe Valley Pizza & Bar and T. W Wood & Sons apartments. People live feet from this entrance! People barbecue right in front of this entrance! This appalled us when we visited the site, how can people be so comfortable living next to the site of such a devastating event? The East Portal, located neared Chimborazo Park, has largely been unmaintained. There used to be a wire fence blocking the entrance from intruders, though it has since been disposed of. The railway bed, after the tracks had been removed, became a creek. Greenery largely blocks the tunnel from view, and graffiti covers the inside walls near the opening. It is obvious that this is an often-visited site, as everyday litter can be seen around the site and many disregarded tires float along the creek and serve as a makeshift bridge to cross from side to side.

What about the surrounding area has changed?

After the collapse in 1925, the St John’s Historic District fell into significant economic turmoil as the white elite population fled the area and residential segregation concentrated the black majority into its bounds. Crime rates, rape and assault incidents, and the percentage of population working in unskilled jobs all rose in the 1970s, while the average income fell below that of the city of Richmond. Despite the return of small businesses with renewal efforts in the 1990s and an increase in gentrification, the people with lowest economic status have been pushed into federal housing like Creighton Court.

Reflection:

History is created through documentation. What is written down in easy to find resources is what generations repeat later on, whether it is true or not. One aspect of this project that was very revealing of this fact was the prejudice and near censorship some documents presented about the residential segregation that was so prominent in Church Hill and the repercussions it has had on the community. This project served as a wakeup call to the ease with which vital information such as this is simply glossed over or even completely left out in government produced forms or the books they most prominently reference. Personally, we will continue to push for the true motives behind biased historical information.

From visiting both entrances of the tunnel, we were able to see two ways in which historical monuments can be addressed by the public. One, the west portal, demonstrated the ease at which a historical monument can be integrated into everyday life. People live and work around the west portal, they see it everyday. In this way many Richmonders are able to remain informed of the history that occurred there almost 100 years ago. At the same time, however, we feel that the placement of everything is a little strange. Someone’s bedroom is 10 feet from the tunnel, there are grills lined up right in front of the entrance. It feels wrong to hold a family barbecue feet from an area of such devastating history, to live moments from this “tomb.” However we understand that life must go on- there are houses to build and roads to pave! In contrast, the east tunnel has become largely overgrown. Situated near Chimborazo Park, it is quite the hike to reach the tunnel. We practically fell over the edge! Although it has been ill-maintained, it feels almost fitting for it to be this way, hidden among the trees in peace. Only those who are truly determined to know its history can reach it.

Authors: Mary Dryden Maio ad Kenan Potter

Bibliography

Evans, Jessica. "What is Church Hill, and how has it changed over time?" Made in Church Hill. http://arts.vcu.edu/madeinchurchhill/2015/01/09/what-is-church-hill-and-how-has-it-changed-over-time/.

Griggs, Walter S., Jr. The Collapse of Richmond's Church Hill Tunnel. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011. Digital file.

———. Hidden History of Richmond. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012. Digital file.

Holmberg, Mark. Mark Holmberg to CBS 6 newsgroup, "Is the Church Hill Tunnel still a menace?," October 2, 2015. Accessed March 19, 2017. http://wtvr.com/2015/10/02/is-church-hill-tunnel-still-a-menace/.

"National Register of Historic Places Registration Form." Unpublished manuscript, September 5, 1997. Accessed March 19, 2017. http://dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/127-0820_Church_Hill_North_HD_1997_Final_Nomination.pdf.

Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA). "Church Hill Tunnel." February 9, 2014. Accessed March 19, 2017. http://www.richmond.com/news/collection_8c73d098-91f7-11e3-ae80-001a4bcf6878.html#6.

Scott, Mary Wingfield. Old Richmond Neighborhoods. N.p.: William Byrd Press, 1950.

"Timeline of Housing Events." Virginia Memory. Accessed March 19, 2017. http://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/mapping-inequality/mapping-inequality-timeline.