Hoosac Tunnel
Hoosac Tunnel is a structure in North Adams, Massachusetts, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1973.
Plan your visit
- Access
- Access information not verified
Last checked October 31, 2026 - Location
- North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
National Register listing does not mean a place is open to the public. Parking and accessibility are shown only when verified.
History
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".
Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.
Other listings in North Adams
- Church Street Historic District District · listed 1983
- H.W. Clark Biscuit Company Building · listed 2009
- Hillside Cemetery Site · listed 2001
- Monument Square-Eagle Street Historic District (Boundary Increase) District · listed 1988
- Norad Mill Building · listed 1985
- Normal School Historic District District · listed 1985
- Armstrong House Building · listed 1985
- Arnold Print Works Building · listed 1985
- Beaver Mill Building · listed 1973
- Blackinton Historic District District · listed 1985
- Boardman, The Building · listed 1985
- Browne, Charles, House Building · listed 1985
- Church Street-Cady Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase) District · listed 1985
- Crowley House Building · listed 1985
- Freeman's Grove Historic District District · listed 1985
Nearby historic places
- Barrett, P. J., Block Adams, MA · about 5 mi
- East Lawn Cemetery and Sherman Burbank Memorial Chapel Williamstown, MA · about 8 mi
- Bissell Bridge Charlemont, MA · about 9 mi
- Wilder, Homestead, The Buckland, MA · about 15 mi
- Crane and Company Old Stone Mill Rag Room Dalton, MA · about 16 mi
- Bennington Battle Monument Bennington, VT · about 17 mi