New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Ansonia abuzz over underground tunnels from the 1800s
ANSONIA — If these walls could talk ...
That’s what some city leaders and residents might be thinking with the recent public reveal of a “secret” underground tunnel running beneath downtown streets.
While city leaders have known about the tunnel, built in the 1840s, the public at large really is not aware of the massive infrastructure that was part of the city’s industrial revolution, according to Greg Martin, city director of constituent services.
“This is huge infrastructure that dates back nearly 200 years to the city’s industrial revolution history,” said Martin. “People are fascinated with this stuff as evidenced by posting on the city’s Facebook page.”
Many residents commented they had no idea the tunnel existed and were fascinated to learn about it. Someone suggested the tunnel could have served as a “secret passage way for the mob in the 1920s,” while another said it may have been part of the Underground Railroad. Others recalled their elderly parents telling them they played inside the tunnel as kids.
Martin said the aqueduct-like tunnel likely was constructed in the 1840s, predating the Farrel manufacturing buildings it runs beneath that were built in the 1850s. He said it extends more than 1,000 feet under parts of downtown and North Main Street, with its main purpose not really for the mob, but rather for stormwater runoff.
Martin said the tunnel is more than 12 feet high and made of solid granite blocks, with no mortar used in the stonework.
“This architectural stone masonry marvel is a testimonial to the construction principles used by 19th century workers,” Martin said. “It continues to channel water into the Naugatuck River.”
City Building Inspector Dave Blackwell and City Engineer Fred D’Amico recently were sent to inspect the tunnel at the request of Metro-North for structural evaluation. Neither was available for comment.
City leaders are keeping the tunnel’s entrance top secret to prevent people from attempting to explore it and possibly getting hurt. It does run under the railroad tracks under the Farrel building, to the North Main Street and Main
Street areas and up to Assumption Church, Martin said.
“This tunnel only confirms that today we literally walk and drive among the Roman-like underground and above-ground ruins of the Industrial Revolution within our downtown and don’t even realize it,” Martin said. “This tunnel was linked to a massive canal (now East Main Street) that was built in the 19th century to power the many manufacturing companies in downtown, including Farrel Manufacturing, Ansonia Copper & Brass, Ansonia Clock Co. and several others. It was, and still is, a street rainwater draining tunnel that eventually flows into the Naugatuck River.”
Martin said the tunnel may have also been linked to neighboring Derby and possibly Shelton, that each had man-made power generating canals. He said the connecting tunnels were used to transport ammunition during wars, and Farrel made cannonballs for the North during the Civil War.
When the tunnel was closed in the 1930s, Martin said it became East Main Street, and part of the canal still exists, he said, and can be seen at the corner of Liberty and North Main streets. The canal drained into another tunnel where Spector Furniture is today, carried under the former Capitol Theatre into the Naugatuck River.
“We are sitting on an interesting slice of Americana history that could probably be marketed to include a downtown city history museum/welcome center and paid admission guided walking tours,” Martin added. “The triangle of North Cliff Street,
South Cliff Street and Main Street is a reservoir of history to be unlocked.”
City Historian John William Tuohy agreed.
“The tunnel’s complexity in its structure and the fact that 180 years later it’s still functioning, demonstrates the high quality of engineers and labors the Valley attacked in those early years,” said Tuohy. “It was that sort of workmanship that made Ansonia and the Valley in world lead in heavy manufacturing for over 100 years.”