The Barretts Tunnels, of which the western one is shown in these photographs, lie in West St. Louis County, just west of Kirkwood. The first tunnels west of the Mississippi, the tracks through here were part of the Pacific Railroad, and had the backing of leading Missouri politicians. Completed in 1853 with the use of grunt force and explosives, the tunnels were designed by James Kirkwood, after which the nearby railroad suburb would be named.
The tunnels sit in silence nowadays, too narrow to handle the rail traffic through here. Below, a house remains from what was Barrett’s Station, sitting in between the two tunnels.
