National Register of Historic Places

Hoosac Tunnel

North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Listed
November 2, 1973
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73000294

About this property

The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a 4.75-mile (7.64 km) active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, along the Deerfield River in the town of Florida, to its west portal, in the city of North Adams. Work began in 1851 under an estimated cost of $2 million and ended in 1875, having used $21 million. At its completion, the tunnel was the world's second-longest, after the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) Mont Cenis Tunnel through the French Alps. It was the longest tunnel in North America until the 1916 completion of the Connaught Tunnel under Rogers Pass in British Columbia. It remains the longest active transportation tunnel east of the Rocky Mountains, and as of 1989 is the sixth-longest railroad tunnel in North America. The American Society of Civil Engineers made the tunnel an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1975. "Hoosac" is an Algonquian word meaning "place of stones".

Location

North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
42.67536, -73.03544

Categories

COMMERCEENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Browne, Charles, House
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3.2 mi
Normal School Historic District
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3.6 mi
Beaver Mill
Early Republic
3.7 mi
Boardman, The
Industrial
3.8 mi
Church Street-Cady Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
3.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Hoosac Tunnel listed on the National Register?

Hoosac Tunnel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Hoosac Tunnel?

Hoosac Tunnel is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Hoosac Tunnel?

The period of significance for Hoosac Tunnel is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Hoosac Tunnel?

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