Ever since I moved to the Evansville area in 2008, I've heard stories of things that lie beneath the city. everybody knows about the catacombs that are under the old courthouse. But, did you know there are random tunnels that have been found under the city, too?

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One story of a secret room that might have led to tunnels, made it onto the NBC News Youtube Channel.

Other historical tunnels were a part of the Underground Railroad. One house in Evansville played a very important part in helping slaves find their way to freedom.

According to My105.3 WJLT, in Evansville,

Willard Carpenter used his home known as "The Carpenter House" as part of Indiana's  Underground Railroad.  The home played an important role before the Civil War broke out and was one of the very first stops fleeing slaves would seek refuge when reaching Indiana's borders.  A stone tunnel was built to lead slaves to Carpenter's basement where they could hide until they were ready to be moved further up north.

The mysterious tunnel that lies under a city street in Evansville is the one I recently saw on Facebook. It is hidden away next to Mesker Park Zoo and goes under Mesker Park Drive.

Julie Konsler Stone posted these photos on the I Grew Up in Evansville, Indiana Facebook group. This is what the status said,

On a recent trip to the zoo, we discovered this tunnel under Mesker Park Drive. I had no idea this was there. Does anyone know when this was built and what that sign means?

Where does that wooden door go? When I searched for information on the tunnel with the wooden door, I couldn't find any.

If you grew up in Evansville and know the history of this tunnel, you probably think I'm crazy.  But, I've really never seen this tunnel or heard anything about it.

Julie Konsler Stone
Julie Konsler Stone
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I think the below gate leads to the zoo. One comment on Facebook said this,

There used to be a lot of traffic on that road by the zoo. The tunnel was a safe way to get to all the carnival rides, including the beautiful carousel across the busy street. - <strong>Susan H.W. </strong>
Julie Konsler Stone
Julie Konsler Stone
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Does anybody know what this sign means?

Julie Konsler Stone
Julie Konsler Stone
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One Facebook comment described the sign meaning like this,

Looks like a WPA project The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. Over its eight years of existence, the WPA put roughly 8.5 million Americans to work building schools, hospitals, roads, and other public works, a lot of work was done at the Zoo and Burdette Park by the WPA. - <strong>Willis S.  </strong>

Someone else commented that the same work program built Scales Lake in Boonville, Indiana.

Please let me know what you know about this tunnel. Send me an email, here.

I'm fascinated by what is underneath Evansville. A listener once told me that there is a huge cemetery under the city. He was writing a book about it and he said that when buildings were being built, they just covered the graves and gravestones with dirt and built on top of them.

Does anybody know if that's true? If it is, that might be why I get really weird vibes when I've been down in the catacombs. Sounds a little Poltergeist-like to me. Remember the subdivision was built on top of a burial ground?

Ohhhh, I just got chills.

 

Goosebumps and other bodily reactions, explained

 

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