"The tunnel was dug in 1855 by the Pacific Railroad, later the Missouri-Pacific or Mo-Pac. Your date of 1926 is correct as the last year the tunnel was in use. The hill at Dundee was dynamited in 1926 and the dual tracks placed just north of the old location. There once was a depot at Dundee, as well as a store and probably a few other buildings. It’s hard to imagine now.

The tunnel has interesting stories. Several hoboes were killed there over the years, as they liked to ride atop boxcars facing the rear of the train. At Dundee, as the train entered the tunnel, hoboes would often meet their maker as the backs of their heads were smashed in by the top of the tunnel! The tunnel was also a “romantic” place where guys would take their girlfriends for a “spooky” date. Probably the most interesting thing however, is that when the dynamiting took place in 1926, a cemetery was discovered on top of the hill. Human bones flew out as the dynamite was set off. Dr. Trail, a local historian from Berger, was called down. He collected the bones in a bag and basically declared that among the remains were those of John Colter, the Lewis and Clark veteran who made his home in Franklin County. Dr. Trail called Sam Colter (descendant of John) who took the bag of bones to New Haven and buried them in an unmarked grave at the New Haven Cemetery. So……..tunnel hill is one of five possible burial sites for the famous John Colter! Maybe you already knew that, but in case you didn’t thought you’d like to know."