This tunnel was built around 1857 by the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad. This area was considered the most lonesome and desolate 8 miles of track between Parkersburg and St. Louis. In 1887, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad bought out the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad and took over. The line switched ownership again in 1894 when the CSX Railroad purchased it. Trains stopped using the tracks in 1986, and they were removed 2 years later.

The small village of King Station, a.k.a. Kings, was located here. The village was born when an abundance of high quality coal was discovered in the area. The founder, S.D. King, owned a large tract of land in this area. The village had a schoolhouse, post office, general store, and many mines. Most of the residents worked in the mines. Inspectors rated King's Mines much safer than those in Moonville. Like the other villages in the area, such as Moonville, Ingham Station, and Mineral City, King Station also faded away into oblivion after the mines were exhausted.