Members of the Historic City of Jefferson believe a tunnel unearthed Wednesday in front of the Cole County Courthouse on High Street was most likely part of utility tunneling.
The tunnel was discovered by workers doing landscaping and foundation improvements at the courthouse.
HCJ members went to the work site to document the tunnel with photographs. The tunnel, which was going toward Monroe Street, was vaulted and lined with what appeared to be handmade bricks.
As the tunnel had partially collapsed, Cole County commissioners instructed workers to fully collapse it.
HCJ Executive Director Anne Green said one of the organization's members, Dave Lineberry, has researched a tunnel system that ran from a power plant in Jefferson City's Millbottom area. The plant produced steam and hot water that went through lead-joined iron piping to High Street and other locations in town.
Lineberry's research indicated these tunnels had arched brickwork, Green said. Lineberry also told Green these tunnels were not large enough for people to travel through when accounting for the pipes for steam and hot water inside them.
"We're still going through documents and other items, but this seems to be the most reasonable explanation at this point," Green said.