Over the past several months Friends of Sutro Tunnel have been hard at work at the Sutro Tunnel site located in Dayton, Nev.
“Cleaning, clearing and repairing. We have been hard at work,” Friends of Sutro Tunnel Manager Chris Pattison said.
Improvements made to the 26-acre site include, but are not limited to: clearing the initial collapse in the tunnel; cleaning and clearing the large, overgrown area obstructing access to and limiting the enjoyment of the on-site pond; restoring stairs in the warehouse; repairing and replacing several roofs; scheduling the first wedding to take place on-site; and organizing and hosting a variety of special events.
“I cannot thank our donors and the numerous, regular volunteers who attend every volunteer day,” Pattison said. “The Clampers without whom much would not have been possible, the Desert Pigs, Carson City Moose and Carson City Rotary Club, and all of the people that have returned to us historical items and documents.”
Pattison said the Friends of Sutro Tunnel recently received a plaque dedicated to Adolph Sutro that was previously displayed on the San Francisco Cliff House in the 1980s. Sutro, the self-made millionaire, philanthropist, and later mayor of San Francisco, bought the Cliff House from its original owners in 1881.
The group has published Adolph Sutro’s Lecture on Mines and Mining on Amazon and Audible. They have built-up a YouTube presence focused on sharing local history and even learned that the tunnel operated successfully until it was shut down along with all essential mining during World War II.
“It has been a very exciting year at the site, but there is still so much more to do,” Pattison said. “We want to rebuild the tunnel and continue work to restore buildings located on-site. To be able to do this we need funding and support from the community.”
Individuals or donors interested in supporting the effort are encouraged to visit the Friends of Sutro Tunnel website to purchase promotional merchandise, published books, tickets to special events and more. Information on scheduled events and tours can be found online as well.
Earlier this year on January 24, for the first time in nearly 20-years, the Sutro Tunnel was opened for formal exploration. EROCK Associates, LLC, using their confined space drone technology entered the Tunnel Portal to explore the interior of this historic mining site.
During this exploratory mission, EROCK captured key data points needed to help Friends best determine how to move forward as it continues to work toward reopening this historical site to the public.
“My background is in underground mining and tunneling,” Eric Bennett, president of EROCK Associates, LLC said. “I had a special interest in helping assess the Sutro Tunnel because it is a unique legacy site with a very rich history.”
The Sutro Tunnel is a 3.8-mile drainage tunnel leading into the mines of Virginia City, Nev. It was the brainchild of Adolph Sutro, a San Francisco and Prussian Jewish mining entrepreneur. Sutro envisioned building a 20,498-foot-long tunnel from the Carson River Valley connecting to the Savage Mine in Virginia City at a depth of 1,640-feet.
Construction of the Tunnel began on October 19, 1869. It was completed on September 1, 1878. Anywhere between two-and-four million gallons of water were drained from the upper levels of the Comstock mines via the Sutro Tunnel daily in the late 1870s.
