Aside from underpasses on the highway system, South Carolina is virtually devoid of tunnels. But there is one (partial) tunnel that has a very interesting backstory. It's called Stumphouse Tunnel, reportedly named for a Cherokee woman who lived on the mountain it passes under. Stumphouse Tunnel was to be one of three tunnels on a planned new route for the Blue Ridge Railroad that connected Charleston to the Ohio River Valley in the mid-1800s.

In 1856, a London company imported scores of Irish workers to hand cut the tunnel through the mountain.

It was to be 5,863 feet long — or just over a mile in length.

But the state ran out of funds just ahead of the start of the Civil War and abandoned the project altogether.

What was left was a tunnel that was only 27 percent complete, or 1,617 feet of a very roughly cut tunnel large enough for loaded train cars to pass through.

After the state abandoned the tunnel project in the latter part of the 1850s, the tunnel was used by Clemson University.

You see, the temperature in the tunnel remains a constant cool all year long. It was the perfect spot for Clemson University to grow blue cheese.

And they did so until around 1970, when they were able to replicate the same environment found in the tunnel in an indoor facility using air conditioning.

Today, visitors to the tunnel can't access the very end because of the wall put in place during the tunnel's cheese making days. But it's still a fantastic place to explore.

Be sure to bring a flashlight, and if visiting in the rainy season, a pair of dry shoes.

It's surprising how small you'll feel in this enormous space. And don't worry if you get an uneasy vibe. Some people insist the tunnel is haunted by the souls of workers that died from horrible accidents during the tunnel's construction. But nothing nefarious and related to the paranormal has ever happened to visitors to the site.

If you're up for a challenge when you're there, you can try to scramble up to the top of the mountain (it's really a hill, not a huge mountain).

Up top is where Stumphouse Tunnel Village once stood, filled with the makeshift housing of the construction crew that lived up here during the work.

Stumphouse Tunnel is found at Stumphouse Tunnel Park just outside of Walhalla, South Carolina.

The park also contains a trail to a huge waterfall that's close by. The trail is short and the waterfall is worth the effort to see it.

For more on Issaqueena Falls, read This Quaint Little Trail Is The Shortest And Sweetest Hike In South Carolina.

Stumphouse Tunnel Park is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Admission is $5 per vehicle and includes parking. Learn more from the official website for the Visit Oconee County.