On Saturday local researchers set out for Fort Pickens to investigate the rumors of tunnels under Pensacola Bay.
The rumor has always been there was a tunnel running from Fort Pickens to the mainland. While pretty much just a rumor, they thought they found the origin of it.
From the inside of Fort Pickens this “tunnel” was built to house the anti-shipping mining cables that stretched across the entrance to Pensacola Bay.
This mining system was built in 1894. The tunnel is 2 1/2’ x 3 1/2’, which is large enough for an adult to crawl through.
They originally thought it ran from this location to halfway across the bay, and under the sea bed, which could have accounted for the rumor.
But during their research they were provided with a copy of the original Historic Structures Report, which stated that this tunnel structure ran until it was past the outside wall of the fort, where it terminated, and the mining cables were then buried in a trench to the waterline. The cables then rested on the seabed. Regardless, it was still a nice day at the fort.
I was assistant to Stanley South when we excavated Russelborough, the home of William Dry, Port Collector in 18th century Brunswicktown, North Carolina. We determined that a tunnel leading from the house to the edge of the Cape Fear River provided a discrete method whereby servants could empty chamber pots!
I like learning more about the Pensacola history.
Look under the South Jefferson Street extension from Seville quarter up to East Romano. Manuel Gonzalez is rumoured to have .,…..