Negro Mountain? Never heard of it!

I had my eye out for mile marker 116.7 as we drove along the Pennsylvania Turnpike headed west last week. At that point, I would be in the vicinity of Negro Mountain Tunnel, though I knew I wasn’t likely to see it from the highway.

What I saw were trees and bushes in a low valley, green vegetation on a nice summer day. I was on the turnpike with my friend Yvonne (who writes the Soul Rhythms blog) to pick up her daughter and all her “stuff” from college. (It’s amazing how much college students buy and accumulate these days; all I remember is a black metal trunk and a few sturdy blue suitcases.)

When Yvonne asked if I’d like to take the trip, I jumped at the chance because I just love road trips. It’s all about seeing this vast country, trying something new, being adventurous – because you never know what you’ll find or come across (just like auctions). Photo above is by drquuxum.

I’d never been past Pittsburgh and had never taken a drive in a car through western Pennsylvania, so I Googled to see what was interesting along the way. You can imagine my surprise when I came upon “Negro Hill Tunnel” and “Negro Mountain.”

I just had to know what that was all about. It wasn’t a find in an auction, but it was a “find” nevertheless.

The mountain is part of the Allegheny Mountain range and runs 30 miles from Garrett County, Md., to Somerset County, Pa. Its highest point is Mount Davis in Pennsylvania. The mountain appeared to be more Maryland than Pennsylvania: That state has erected a highway sign and a road-side marker on National Road (US Alternate 40) near Grantsville. Yvonne recalled seeing a sign when she’d taken the trip through northern Maryland to Ohio.

There was not a marker or a sign in Pennsylvania indicating we were on Negro Mountain, so I was watching diligently for the mile post.

The history of the tunnel is intertwined with the history of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In the late 1800s, the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad were in a tug of war over territory (as in routes). So William H. Vanderbilt of New York Central struck first, deciding to build a railroad between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh in the heart of PA Railroad country. By 1885, he and his investors had spent millions of dollars laying tracks over 209 miles and carving six tunnels into the Allegheny Mountains. J.P.Morgan, after becoming a member of the New York Central board, said enough of this bickering. The project was stopped, and it became known as “Vanderbilt’s folly.”

 Negro Mountain Tunnel – or Negro Hill Tunnel, as it is also called – was one of those tunnels (there were supposed to be nine). When the Pennsylvania Turnpike was proposed in the 1930s, the tunnel was among those bypassed by the state.

How did the mountain get its name? I found various versions of its origin – most of which apparently are legends – and wikipedia offered four of them. It said that the most popular (supported by newspaper accounts) was of a black slave or scout named “Nemisis.” He joined Col. Thomas Cresap in 1756 when he led a team to the mountain to fight Native Americans during the French and Indian War. Nemisis was killed in battle and the mountain was named to honor him.

There have been challenges to the name Negro Mountain. Albert Feldstein, an amateur historian in western Maryland, has several articles about it on the Western Maryland’s Historical Library website. In Pennsylvania, state Rep. Rosita C. Youngblood introduced a resolution in 2007 (and it looks like she proposed re-introducing it last year) to create a commission to study a name change of either the mountain or Mount Davis to honor Nemisis (or Nemesis, as I also found it spelled). Mount Davis is named after the settler who owned the land.

On our drive back through western Pennsylvania, I took out my camera to at least record what I saw at milepost 116.7 on the south side. Basically, the same thing as the north side – except for a hill with what looked like a little building on it.  The website Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnels says the tunnel is on the north side of the roadway, located under an old coal mine, and that parts of it are in the original condition. Another site said it was also north of the turnpike with an opening about 400 feet into the woods. 

Here’s a photo from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit List website of what it looks like.