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An artist rendition that appeared in The Birmingham News in 1975 of two boys approaching 'the underground river.'

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Newspaper accounts described it as a "Mystic River" beneath the streets of Birmingham, a vast stream with river banks once inhabited by people who left behind mummies and Masonic symbols and containing remains of "extinct sea monsters."

It was, of course, a huge hoax.

The story of Birmingham's underground river stretches back to articles in the Birmingham Iron-Age in 1884 and has been recounted by Bhamwiki and in a 2013 unpublished manuscript -- Underground Rivers -- by Thomas J. Heggen, professor emeritus of civil engineering at The University of New Mexico.

It is no secret there are underground bodies of water in Birmingham and across Alabama.

Alabama has more miles of underground rivers than any other state. Those rivers, known as groundwater, are responsible for most sinkholes.

"Groundwater is moving through cracks and crevices in the limestone, forming caves or caverns underground," Sandy Ebersole, with the Geological Survey of Alabama, told AL.com in March. "Eventually, the caves or caverns get so big, or the weight above gets so heavy, the roof of the cave collapses. That's what forms a sinkhole."

That became an issue last year when a 100 foot deep sinkhole formed at the entrance of Birmingham's new baseball stadium.

The idea of an "underground river" captured the imaginations of Birmingham residents 130 years ago.

Birmingham Public Library archivist Jim Baggett discussed the "river" and its role in Magic City history in "noir tours" he gave in October.

"There's debate as to whether it's an actual river, but there are huge bodies of water under Birmingham, pretty close to the surface," Baggett said at the time.

Birmingham's water issues helped shape early Birmingham - how buildings were built, where they were built, and how high they could go, Baggett said.

"Especially in the early years, it was very much on people's minds. It kind of helped shape the psyche of Birmingham, too."

That was driven in large part, Heggen writes, by the arrival in the early 1880s of Joseph Mulhatton, a traveling salesman well known for pitching tall tales to any newsman willing to listen.

By the early 20th century, after having claimed to discover the petrified body of George Washington, monkeys trained to pick hemp, and cacti able to magnetically attract human bodies, "to lie like a Mulhatton" had become a commonly used pejorative term, Heggen wrote.

A website called Museum of Hoaxes describes Mulhatton as "perhaps the most famous hoaxer in America."



In 1880, the Atlanta Constitution debunked a claim by Mulhatton of oil having being struck in Birmingham, Heggen wrote.

It was at about that time underground water sources became an issue for the young, growing city.

This comes from the Bhamwiki entry about the "underground river":

"In August 1884 it was observed, during a hard rain, that water flowing along a large, open sewer on 5th Avenue North, disappeared into the ground at a certain point between 21st and 22nd Street.

An investigation revealed a hole in the bottom of the sewer opening into a large cavern. Mayor A. O. Lane directed an exploration by "two strong men with ropes tied around their waists," elsewhere identified as "Mr. Lacy, boss of the street gang, and a Negro man."'

The two worked their way through the rock and and that they heard rushing water below, but could not locate the bottom of the cavern, even with 9-foot poles they took with them. Complaining of headaches from "impure air" they returned to the surface.

The Birmingham Iron-Age of August 21 of that year reported that crews were working to open inlets to the underground river at 5th Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Street North, and at East Park, near Central High School. Mayor Lane was interested in determining the value of such a stream either for water supply or drainage.

Later reports indicated that it was expected to be used as a sewer."

Mulhatton, evidently, saw in this stream an opportunity to capture headlines.

A week after the Iron-Age article appeared, another article ran, entitled "Underneath Us," about a group of men who contacted Mulhatton -- described in the article as a "great Kentucky scientist and cave expert" -- to explore the "river."

Mulhatton reported that the 45-to-70-foot-deep river was suitable for steamship travel and led to the Gulf of Mexico. The river was said to be 300 feet wide and was "undoubtedly the most remarkable discovery ever made on the American continent" complete with extinct "marine monsters" and bronze, Egyptian style statues left by prehistoric, underground dwellers.

The account drew curiosity from around the nation.

"It is very evident that an erroneous impression with regard to the size of the stream prevails throughout the country, produced, no doubt by articles written in a spirit of Joe Mulhattonism," The Atlanta Constitution reported on Oct. 12, 1884.

The article noted a "shrewd Selma negro" took advantage of the situation by offering a guided tour of the underground river. People flocked to Birmingham "by the train load" but never found the boat. "The negro who got up the excursions has not returned to Selma," the article stated.

A 1975 Birmingham News article stated the legend was woken from its 90 year slumber after a "recent earth tremor" was reported in Trussville.

"There's definitely a large underground stream in the downtown area" George Brockman, a UAB instructor of earth science at the time told The News for that article. Birmingham historian Raymond Rowell added that an entrance to an underground stream near Highland and 12th Avenue South had been sealed in the early 1900s to protect children.

As recently as 1957, Rowell said, the "underground river" had affected Birmingham construction projects.

"Clear water was being pumped out of the new buildings foundation," Rowell said in reference to a Federal Reserve Bank annex built near the corner of Fifth Avenue North and 18th Street North.

Heggen writes the idea of an "underground river" in Birmingham is geologic speculation.

"In terms of fiction, however, the city' s underground river is well established. Mulhattons will long be told," Heggen concluded. "Underground rivers are about so much more than geology."