Industrial Struggles: The Hoosac Tunnel

The Hoosac Tunnel

The Hoosac Tunnel is emblematic of the North Adams' desire to become one of the industrial super-cities in Massachusetts like Lowell. One effort was to create the a train tunnel, the Hoosac Tunnel, that would connect North Adams to a national railway network. Much like the creative economy was supposed to do, the Hoosac Tunnel was also supposed to transform North Adams significantly.  

The work was extremely dangerous and required blasting through mountain rock to create the 4.75 mile tunnel, one of the largest in the country. It was an expensive project, originally estimated to cost about $2 million dollars. After the tunnel's completion in 1875 (it began in 1851), it ended up costing almost $21 million. 

This blasting cap is all that remains of one of the dangerous explosive devices used to blaze a path through the mountain. Hundreds of mens worked on the treacherous job, all with hope that the result would turn North Adams into a beacon of industry. The tunnel never had the impact people thought it would have. Though it is still in use, it was Sprague and not the tunnel that put North Adams' on the map.