Built in 1850, the 1477-foot tunnel through Chetoogeta Mountain was an engineering marvel of its time, linking the Atlantic coast to the western frontier via rail and the Tennessee River. Early in the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave a rousing speech at the depot in Tunnel Hill. In 1862, the Great Locomotive Chase passed through the tunnel, ending a few mile north at Ringgold. The oldest tunnel in the southeastern United States has been restored. Visitors to the Tunnel Hill Heritage Center can walk its length.