Ezra's Tunnel

In 1830, when Ezra Cornell was 24, he worked at Jeremiah Beebe's flour mill on Fall Creek. At Beebe's request, Cornell constructed a 200-foot-long tunnel to divert water from Fall Creek to power the mill. It took six months to blast through the rock to build the tunnel. Ezra also built a dam to feed the tunnel, and a plank walk was added from one end of the tunnel to the other. By the year 1835, the flour mill was able to grind 40,000 bushels of wheat per year.

The Ithaca Common Council recently voted to close off access to "Ezra's Tunnel" because of safety concerns.

LISTEN HERE