Illinois man finds mysterious tunnel beneath his home

We’re going underground in Alton, Illinois, into a tunnel that was just found.

“A lot of brick,” said Gary Machens, who discovered the tunnel. “Whatever they built this for, it took a lot of men and a lot of hours. You know, one guy didn’t do this.”

Machens first uncovered this tunnel when he discovered his sidewalk starting to slope.

“Had a problem here at the sidewalk and as we were doing some excavating and repacking of the rock here, we discovered this tunnel here,” he said. “According to historians here in the Alton area. This tunnel was put in here around 1840.”

When the West Alton farmer and his wife first moved into this home, he already knew of its history – dating back to the 1890s.

Machens believes the change in elevation from 1895 when this brick-lined street was put down covered the opening to this underground mystery.

“Why is it stair stepped like this?” Machens said. “Why is that in there? Do you see the offset in the brick? And if you look along this wall it turns that way a little bit. Look down along this wall.”

Whether for ice storage, a carriage, or part of the Underground Railroad, is anyone’s best guess.

“It’s unique, there are a few tunnels around the Alton area since we checked with the Landmark Historic Society,” Machen said. “It’s been used as an icehouse or root cellar or a lot of other options.

“It could have been used for the Underground Railroad. There’s no proof of that but there was a ferry here in the Alton area to the Missouri side and it’s possible it could have been used for that.”

Machens is open to the idea of opening the tunnel for tours if he can get the city or someone to help with logistics and cost.

For now, he has to fix his sidewalk and seal up the tunnel.

“Yes, three former mayors of Alton have lived in this house through the years,” Machens said. “I don’t know if any of them knew about this. The house was built in 1890, the tunnel is believed from 1840, so it was here for 50 years. What it was used for, I don’t know. We’ve got maps that go back to 1863 and this house was not there and there was not another house on this property here.”

Machens, a history lover, says he wants to preserve this past and current-day mystery in his life.

“So, it was at least 9 feet tall,” he said. “We’re standing on about a foot of dirt and it’s 9 feet wide and how far back it goes, we don’t know. We know it goes back 60 feet.”

[cheecheneg]

That brickwork is actually in really good shape!

[pauls.]

I would have 100% not told anyone about that if it were me.

[dram]

I want to see whats beyond that sand at the end of the tunnel!

[kubhlaikhan]

I have one of these under my house (Nottinghamshire UK). It is a water cistern built circa 1640 to bring water from the village well (which is 100-150 yards away) to what was then a small livestock farm. Still in great shape and still doing its job. Skillful brickwork - we underestimate our ancestors.

[datmeme]

Somebody needs to tell these people that the "Underground Railroad" was not literally under the ground.

[imchris]

taxman is like so you got a bigger basement now?

[whatyousaidbud]

So the arch with the massive keystone at ground level isn't what made him curious???

[craigslistrro]

If it was my house, I would have kept my yapper shut about the finding...

[stacymirba]

It's amazing how new that brick looks after almost 200 years having not been exposed to the elements.

[natelee]

I’d be checking across the street to see if it continues on

[wherethefugarwe]

Underground railroad, riiight. Because a huge opening under a house right at street level (at the time) would be a GREAT place to sneak people in and out of.

[billrogers]

That would make a hell of a man cave, literally.

[Ferreal]

I guess it’s just me, but If I ever found anything unique, historic, or valuable in my house I’d probably not say anything. You never know what bureaucracy, or long lost relatives you may attract.

[sideshowbob]

As a civil engineer with 3+ decades design & management experience, this looks just like the very common major drainage / sewer culverts built in the late 1800's in most US cities. I am in New England & saw these sorts of structures everywhere we were designing drainage or sewer infrastructure in a medium / small city / large town. The shape & configuration is the same. I bet if they dug down to the base they'd see a brick lined bottom that sloped towards a "chute" in the middle. Most of these were built as "interceptors" of smaller older sewers that drained right into the lake or river, so they were usually parallel to the water course. This was in the era of industrial revolution, when it became apparent we couldn't just dump raw sewage into lake & rivers anymore, so these "interceptors" were built to funnel discharge to a rudimentary treatment system of sedimentation ponds / chambers, now replaced by full treatment plants.

[lindaleduke]

It's disheartening how many people don't understand what the underground railroad really was. As a former history teacher, it makes me want to cry!

[nicomeier]

That's not a "mysterious tunnel" but an A-grade wine cellar!!

[billmoran]

Looks like Al Capones vault...better call Geraldo👨🏻‍🦱

[glasslinger]

If it was me, I wouldn't be blabbing all over the net about it!
That is a perfect prepper's room. Depends on if it floods when it rains.

[scottpeters]

I love how people think the "underground railroad" involved an underground railroad.. lol

[marysmith]

It could have come in handy as a safe room if you didn’t tell the world!