Near Ridgecrest in Buncombe County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Somebody's Dead: Swannanoa Tunnel
Photographed by Mark Parker, August 29, 2025
1. Somebody's Dead: Swannanoa Tunnel Marker
Directly below you is the Swannanoa Tunnel. At 1,832 feet in length, it is the longest of the 7 tunnels cut into the mountain and was the deadliest to build.
Asheville Junction,One of the last hurdles to bring the railroad into western NC was to cut a tunnel through the mountain at the top of the Swannanoa Gap.
Swannanoa Tunnel
All caved in, babe
All caved in
Last December,
I remember
Wind blowed cold, babe
Wind blowed cold
When you hear my
Watchdog howling,
Somebody's round, babe,
Somebody's round.
When you hear that
Hoot owl squawling
Somebody died.
Somebody's dead.
I'm going back to
Swannanoa Tunnels
That's my home, babe
That's my home.
Hammer falling
From my shoulders
All day long, babe
All day long.
To speed the process along, in 1877, the engineer in charge of the project decided that the incarcerated laborers should begin digging at both sides of the mountain until they met in the middle. To facilitate this, a locomotive was needed at the top of the gap, but there was no track to run on.
The State's solution? Hundreds of men were strapped to the train alongside mules and oxen and forced to push and pull the 17-ton engine up the steep
this page online
Accidents plagued the digging of the Swannanoa Tunnel at both ends. Landslides buried laborers where they worked. Men perished underneath train wheels. Some tried their luck at escaping into the mountains. Many were shot and killed. Others found freedom.
The well-known folk song, Swannanoa Tunnel, originated as a hammer or work song, written and performed by laborers not only to aid in keeping the rhythm of their work consistent (and safer), but also to lament and resist their imprisonment.
Images: (inset) What would have been a 3-mile ascent in a straight line actually required 9 miles of gradually ascending looping railroad track so that a steam locomotive could pull a loaded train uphill. The winding route is shown on this 1881 map: (background) The western portal to the Swannanoa Tunnel, c1880.
(Map caption) The dark blue line on the 1881 map shows the twisting route and numerous tunnels that had to be constructed for the train to journey safely up the mountain.
Erected by Asheville Museum of History, Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe Co., theRAILproject.org.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Law Enforcement • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1877.
Location.
Photographed by Mark Parker, August 29, 2025
2. Somebody's Dead: Swannanoa Tunnel Marker
Triptych outside of eastern section of Ridgecrest Conference center
Regionally, this marker is in the Mountains and in Greater Asheville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wind Blowed Cold, Babe: The Swannanoa Stockade (here, next to this marker); All Day Long: Building the Western North Carolina Railroad (here, next to this marker); Swannanoa Gap Engagement (a few steps from this marker); Swannanoa Tunnel (within shouting distance of this marker); Swannanoa Gap (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Memoriam (approx. 0.2 miles away); Billy Graham Statue (approx. 0.3 miles away); Stoneman's Raid (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ridgecrest.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Swannanoa Gap Engagement (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
More about this marker. The marker is part of a triptych outside the fence at Ridgecrest Conference center. Access is from Yates Avenue only.
Also see . . .
1. A Tribute to those who died in the making of the Swannanoa Gap Tunnel. Posted by the City of Asheville on its YouTube page. Artist credit was not
Photographed by Mark Parker, August 29, 2025
3. Triptych on Yates Avenue at closed Ridgecrest Conference entrance
2. Swannanoa Tunnel: About the Song.
Swannanoa Tunnel, also known as Asheville Junction and Swannanoa Town, is an American folk song that originated during the late 19th century as a work song. African American prison laborers leased to Western North Carolina Railroad sang it as they swung their hammers and blasted a series of tunnels to let trains pass through the Blue Ridge Mountains. An estimated 125 300 convicts died during the construction of these tunnels. White folklorists and banjo players adapted the song and kept it circulating through the 20th century, obscuring its African American origins...(Submitted on September 12, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)
Song History
When the hammer crews were working, they often sang hammer songs, a subcategory of work songs. As the timing of the hammer man, or men, and shaker was critical for safety and efficiency, hammer songs provided a steady rhythm by which to work. Lyrics, often improvised, commented on working conditions, struggles, strength, and resistance. The steel-driving man John Henry is referenced in many hammer songs, including Swannanoa Tunnel. Henry, a convict laborer who worked himself to death, served as a hero and cautionary tale.
Will Shorty Loves version of Swannanoa Tunnel, recorded as Asheville Junction for Duke University folklorist Frank C. Brown in 1939, perhaps most closely resembles the original hammer song. Love, an African American employee at Duke, sang unaccompanied while pounding a table to mimic hammer strikes.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 12, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 167 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 12, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
