Burro Schmidt Tunnel

The Burro Schmidt Tunnel, located in Kern County, California near Garlock, is a half-mile long (0.8 km) tunnel dug entirely by hand, constructed over a 32-year period by William "Burro" H. Schmidt (1871-1954). Located at coord|35|24.62|N|117|52.55|W|, the tunnel is near the summit of a 4,400 foot (1,340 m) mountain in the El Paso Mountains of eastern California.

Schmidt, who was mining gold, was faced with a dangerous ridge between his mining area and the smelter at Mojave, California. Schmidt said that he would "never haul his ore to the smelter in Mojave down that back trail" using his two burros. Thus, he began his tunnel in 1906. The tunnel was about six feet tall and ten feet wide, but it cut through solid granite and required little shoring. The path was not straight, but took several turns.

Schmidt was trapped many times by falling rock and injured often, and eventually installed a cart on rails. In 1920 a road was completed from Last Chance Canyon to Mojave, eliminating the need for the tunnel, but Schmidt claimed to be obsessed with completion, and dug on.

In fact, it was not a desire to punch through the mountain that motivated his digging, but a vein of gold extending in that direction. Schmidt simply claimed an irrational desire to dig through the mountain to prevent others from moving in on his find.

By 1938 he had achieved his "goal", having dug through nearly 2,500 feet (762 m) of solid granite using only a pick, a shovel, and a four pound hammer for the first portion, and carefully placed dynamite with notoriously short fuses for the majority. It was estimated that he had moved 5,800 tons (5,260 metric tons) of rock to complete his work.

Interestingly Schmidt never used the tunnel to move his ore. Instead, he sold the tunnel to another miner and moved away. A "Ripley's Believe It or Not" cartoon celebrated the feat, calling him the human mole. Schmidt's cabin in Garlock has been largely abandoned and stands as it was in the 1930s, preserved by the dry climate. Repeated calls upon the landowner, the United States Bureau of Land Management, to preserve the site have gone ignored and the buildings have fallen prey to vandalism.

The Bureau of Land Management claims they own the Schmidt Tunnel. This is now in dispute as the previous legal owner, Tonie Evelyn Seger, gave the land to Dave Ayers, her beloved caretaker for the last years of her life. The historic buildings are owned by her granddaughter Cheryl Kelly. A small group of history buffs and outdoorsmen, The Friends of Burro Schmidt Tunnel (FBST), are actively preserving the site.

As of 2003 the legal owners of Schmidt Tunnel are David Ayers and Mr. F. Schmidt. The BLM lays claim to the Heritage buildings, seized from the legal owner Cheryl Kelly, by posting a notice in the newspaper.

References

* Friends of Burro Schmidt Tunnel, member 2005
* [http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?z=11&n=3918907&e=420478&s=50&size=l&u=7&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25 TopoQuest map of tunnel site]