Clann Mhor reveals update on Crozet Tunnel research

What:  History Lecture: Clann Mhor on the crozet tunnel
When:  Thursday, April 17 at 7:00pm
Where: 329 W. Main St., Waynesboro, Va
Tickets: Admission is Free ($5 suggested donation)

Returning for the third time, members of the Clann Mhor Organization of researchers who are studying the history of the Blue Ridge Railroad in Central Virginia will give an update on their archaeology work on the crozet tunnel and other building of the railroad.  The monthly history lectures are a joint project of the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation and the Wayne Theatre Alliance and is supported by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.  The lecture will be held at WTA’s Gateway, 329 West Main in downtown Waynesboro on Thursday, April 17.  Doors open at 6:30 pm and the lecture will start at7:00 pm.

The lecture/slide show will detail the construction of the railroad tunnel through Afton Mountain, a 19^th century engineering feat.  The labor force of Irish immigrants and slaves worked from both sides of the mountain using primitive tools to cut slowly through the solid rock.  Under the direction of Claudius Crozet the tunnel met almost perfectly in the middle, an accomplishment much heralded.  However, that success was not without cost, financial and human. The Clann Mhor lecture reveals the hardship and triumphs of those who struggled to bring the enterprise to completion.

There is no admission fee to the monthly history lectures, but donations of at least $5 are suggested.  The April 17 lecture will start at 7:00 pm at WTA’s Gateway at 329 W. Main St. downtown Waynesboro, VA.  Space is limited to the first 100 people.