Burro Schmidt Tunnel, California

This 2,000-foot long tunnel, approximately seven feet in diameter, was chiseled through a mountain by William Henry "Burro"  Schmidt with hand tools and explosives. Begun in 1906 as a means of transporting ore from his mine to the processing site, Schmidt devoted the following 32 years of his life to digging the tunnel, apparently losing interest in his mining enterprise, until he broke through the mountainside on the other end.