Are there really Civil War tunnels under Columbus? That is one of the questions I am most frequently asked, and within the last two weeks, three people have asked me that again.
Stories abound about tunnels under Columbus. Supposedly, these tunnels were built during the Civil War to provide escape routes from important buildings and prominent residences to the Tombigbee River. They were said to be brick-lined and to also connect the different buildings.
The two most frequently described tunnels originated at the old Gilmer Hotel and the S.D. Lee Home. I have had numerous people tell me they have seen the tunnel entrance under the Lee home, and I recall years ago either a street cave-in or construction exposed a brick tunnel behind the Gilmer Hotel near the old Trailways Bus Depot (now the Trotter Convention Center parking lot).
Several people have not only inquired about the history of the tunnels but have told me their own recollections. Typical was this comment by a former Columbus resident:
“I can remember when I was at Lee High School (old Lee High burned around 1960 and had been located at the site of the Columbus-Lowndes Library) just down the street from Franklin Elementary, they were telling about the tunnel that ran down to the river so the people could get away from the northern army coming in to take them prisoners. It was supposed to be connected to the house (Lee Home) next to the school which burned. Then there was supposed to be one that ended up at the river just down river of the old bridge…”
Uncle Bunky told me that when he was growing up he and a couple of friends were exploring the bank of the Tombigbee at low water and noticed what looked like a cave entrance near the mouth of Moore’s Creek. They entered it and found it was a brick-lined tunnel, but it had roots growing in it and looked scary enough that they only ventured 10 or 15 feet into it before getting out.
Carolyn Kaye’s father, Bob Burns, told her that when he was a boy, he and several friends found a brick-lined tunnel entrance near the bridge and Moore’s Creek. They explored the tunnel and got as far as the Gilmer Hotel before they became concerned about the stability of the brick walls and worked their way back to the river.
Several other people recall seeing entrances to what appeared to be brick-lined tunnels, one near the mouth of Moore’s Creek just upstream from the bridge and another downstream from the bridge. Construction work along Main Street, near First United Methodist Church, about 10 years ago exposed an opening into a brick tunnel. Gary Lancaster lowered a camera into the opening a get a photograph. That location was interesting, as the church had been used both as a Confederate hospital and an ordinance laboratory for the Brierfield Confederate Arsenal during the Civil War.
The Civil War tunnels make a fascinating story, but they are only a story. The tunnels do exist but they have nothing to do with the Civil War. They are actually a brick storm drainage system that was probably started by the city in the mid 1850s and expanded and completed during the 1870s. Over the years, they have been left off of city drainage maps and their locations forgotten. That added to their mystique when found but does not change what they are. They are brick-lined mid-19th century storm drains.
But what about the tunnels people have seen under the S.D. Lee home? Gary Lancaster found the answer to that. When the house was built, there were some arched brick air vents in the walls under the house. When the porch was added years after the house was built, some of these arched vents then led to the darkness under the porch.
A mystery solved, but Civil War tunnels still makes for a much better story. Thanks to Carolyn Kaye, Gary Lancaster and the late Sam Kaye for years of fun tracking down the story behind Columbus’ “Civil War tunnels.”
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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