Tunnel Hill is a city in northwest Whitfield County and southern Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 963 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel, a railroad tunnel built in the late 1840s.
History
The community was first known as Doe Run. It was incorporated on March 4, 1848, as Tunnelsville, and changed its name in 1856 to Tunnel Hill. Both names refer to the nearby Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel railroad tunnel cut through Chetoogeta Mountain, officially dedicated on October 31, 1849, by Etowah steel-maker Mark A. Cooper on behalf of the state-owned Western & Atlantic Railroad.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Tunnel Hill as a town in 1856.
Throughout the American Civil War, the homes around Tunnel Hill were used as part of a major hospital system. The Clisby Austin House also served as the headquarters for Union Gen. William T. Sherman while he made his plans for attacks against nearby Dalton and Resaca, which became the opening battles of what would later be known as the Atlanta campaign. The area hosted many engagements and camps throughout the course of the war. These are remembered through an annual Battle Reenactment held in September.
The dates of the actual military engagements were September 11, 1863; February 23, 24–25, 1864; May 5–7, 1864; and March 3, 1865.
Geography
thumb|left|Railroad tracks passing through Tunnel Hill
Tunnel Hill is located at (34.845934, -85.042955). The town is situated in a rugged area along the western base of Chetoogeta Mountain (listed as "Tunnel Hill Ridge" on USGS maps). The Tennessee Valley Divide crosses the top of the ridge, dividing the watersheds of the Tennessee River and the Conasauga River. U.S. Route 41 connects Tunnel Hill to Ringgold to the northwest and Dalton to the southeast. Georgia State Route 201 connects the town with Varnell to the northeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km), all land.
Demographics
As of 2010 Tunnel Hill had a population of 856. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 93.5% white, 3.7% black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.5% from some other race and 0.4% from two or more race. 3.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino, with 2.0% of the population being Mexican.
As of the census