Moonville Tunnel — Attraction in Brown Township

I remember when the only way to get to Moonville was a long hike along the tracks getting chewed up by the mosquitoes, crossing the old train tressle or crossing Raccoon Creek. I also remember going swimming in the creek back in high school all those years ago. Back then we could go to the various swimming holes at Moonville/Green Bridge and Darwin. Unfortunately Darwin is no more and the last time I was out at Green Bridge it looked like people have not swam there in years and the trails were all overgrown. With Moonville being a known spot for hiking and tourism it looks like the deeper holes have been filled in and the creek is no longer a swimming hole. But it is probably still a decent place to tube down the creek in the summer months. This is also a great place for people who are trying to get started in ghost hunting. Given the history of the town of Moonville. Unfortunately the town has pretty much rotted away and very little is left of the old homes and buildings today . Theres still a strong energy attached to the tunnel area and the remains of the town. As for access to the area they now have a parking lot by the road and an o l.j d bridge that was moved to the tunnel. That way disabled people can access the trail. While you can technically push a wheel chair through the tunnel and down the trail on the old railroad bed. But it would definitely not be very fun for who ever is pushing the chair. It is also pet friendly as for access but no trashcans for pet waste so please clean up after rover if they potty. Also there can be a problem with mosquitoes and other pests depending on the season, temps, and rainfall. So dont forget to bring the Off or the Cutter bug repellents because they can be mutant skeeters here that will eat you alive well I should have said drain you of blood. Also back in the day I camped out in the area several times. But I don't think that you could get away with it today now that people know about the location and you might be visited by a Ranger for the State Forrest that surrounds the area. Back in the day it was not an easy place to locate if you have never been there before. Also back in the day it was still pretty difficult to find out any information about the location and the towns history. Let alone find even if you had been there before. If you have never been to the site of the tunnel and the old town and grave yard its a pretty neat place to explore for an afternoon and the only accessible ghost town in the Athens, Vinton, and Albany area that I know of . Also it is pretty rare for an entire town to be abandoned on the eastern part of the country. Most of the American ghost towns are all in the western part of the country. Where they are a pretty common once the mines played out and more profitable claims were available in other areas and people would follow the gold finds and the boom towns that popped up around the big precious metal finds and claims. So its definitely an oddity to have in the region. Granted that there are a few coal towns in the region where most of the people left long ago but still have a few residents left in the town. So if you have not yet explored the remains of Moonville its a good way to spend an afternoon or two exploring and hiking around the area and the trails through the...

Made the trek out into what is now the middle of no where, which means fairy tale land during its heyday. Im sure i saw a gnome getting some water in its hat at Lake Hope. What im trying to say is its way out there. And the gravel road descent near the destination is no joke.

It truly is like travelling back into those days; this piece of track didnt have a telegraph station, and today you wont get a signal from a cell tower anywhere near here. There arent a lot of people that come out here, and fewer that go much beyond the tunnel. You can easily get into a bad spot and it may be awhile before anyone would see you. If you come out here by yourself stay on the main trail.

Want to stand in Moonville? Get to the listed moonville tunnel parking lot. You will see what looks like remnants of a mortar battle between the gnomes i mentioned in the area. Those tiny mortar blasts are actually the dug out foundation of Samuel Coes house. Samuel Coe owned the area, and his house was also the company store. Moonville was a company town. Technically, thats as much Moonville as any other place nearby.

The actual town location is known. From the parking lot you will see an obvious gate with a sign warning people that the trail from there on isnt passible by humans. That trail on the old rail path is how you had to walk out here before they built the roads to the parking lot and through the tunnel. Standing at that gate in the direction of 1 or 2 oclock, between 2 and 500 yards into that thicket of woods, is Moonville. There are no pics of any foundations because the area was treacherous to get to until recently. If you go find any, take a pic and try to get your gps location.

Id wager that most people who say they went to Moonville many years ago are lying.

The location of the Moonville Graveyard on google Maps is legit. And it is a graveyard, not a cemetary, because theres not a church on the property. Seems to be well maintained.

Google Earth lists multiple locations out there that are unnamed. For some reason, the people who marked them didnt name them. Im going to try to find a few of them and update the names. You should too if you do this as well.

I made it to the location of the Ingham Switch which has a weather protected poster there detailing some history. The ghost town is to the left up a trail a bit. This is also the point where you are miles from an area servicable by automobile. No matter where someone may start out from, youre a couple miles from a car if you get hurt. From here, the quickest someone could get to you is on lake hope near Bear Hollow....

Takes a bit of an effort to visit as the trestle across Raccoon Creek is currently missing, but, it is worth the scramble down to the creek and the tenuous crossing of the boulders to see this bit of history from the northwest approach. The trail extends from the southeast, as well, albeit a much further walk. It appears that someone is attempting to establish a better rails to trails system through this area, which should afford easier access and better preservation in the future. A bit muddy yesterday.

UPDATE: There is a great bridge here now, allowing fairly easy access to the tunnel. The trail could use some smoothing and widening, but, I was able to get my wife to the tunnel in a wheelchair. Mind you, it is fairly steep from parking to the bridge and it is not paved, so...if you attempt taking a person in a wheelchair over, be sure you are up to the task. Impressive sight....if people were just more respectful of the history and stopped with the graffiti and taking 'souvenirs" and leaving...