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Strange Columbus 1884 Earthquake

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Strange Columbus September 1884 Earthquake Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Dispatch headline from September 20, 1884.

This Strange Columbus 1884 Earthquake edition reviews a fairly rare event in the state-a damaging seismic event. While most earthquakes felt within the state have epicenters outside of Ohio- either west in the Missouri/Illinois area or north in Ontario or Quebec- the September, 1884 quake was one of the few damaging ones that had its origins within state borders.
At around 2:45PM on the 19th, an estimated magnitude 4.8 tremor struck northwest Ohio. While 4.8 is not particularly strong as far as earthquakes go, Ohio’s geology allows even relatively weak quakes to shake the land with much greater force than in other parts of the country.
The earthquake was felt across all of Ohio and several surrounding states. The Crestline Advocate, from small Crestline, Ohio to the west of Mansfield, provided accounts from all over the region a week after the event. Here are just a few.

From Crestline itself:
A genuine earthquake visited this locality last Friday afternoon at 2:45, in which houses were made to tremble and furniture rattle. Several persons ran from dwellings and business houses, expecting everything to “fall in.” The swaying motion was very distinct, running east and west. The sensation was
something new in this section. The experience here was the same as that telegraphed from numerous portions of the State. Our neighboring towns, also, reported a lively shaking up. James Booth says that, at the time of the occurrence, he was thrown from a lounge on which he was lying, then bounded up from the floor, whirled around, and went scooting out of his front door up into the air, and when he collected his scattered senses he found himself on the roof of his domicile, standing on his head. He didn’t say this in just so many words, but this was inferred from the experience he related.

COLUMBUS, O., September 20. – At 2:40p.m. yesterday, a shock of earthquake was felt in different parts of this city, the vibrations lasting over thirty seconds. At the Capitol (sic) University the chandeliers swayed to and fro and students left their rooms amid great excitement.

CLEVELAND, Ohio., September 20. –
Yesterday afternoon an earthquake was felt in many parts of this city. Tables and furniture were moved in the houses, pictures on the walls were shaken, causing quite an excitement among the inmates. The motion was from west to east and was confined to three distinct rockings finally subsiding and dying away in a sort of a tremor.

CINCINNATI, O., September 20. – At 2:30 yesterday afternoon the shock of an earthquake was felt in this city and in Covington, Ky. There was a slight trembling of buildings and rocking motion felt, which was sufficiently marked to cause astonishment and comment. The motion was from north to south and was a gentle undulation, without any tremor or upheaval. The shocks lasted about ten seconds, there being a perceptible pause between the first and second. A gentleman, who was writing at home on Cutter Street, said he felt his table vibrate. It stopped and then moved again less violently than before. Reports from Mt. Vernon and Delaware, Ohio, say the shock was felt at their places.

A 1998 report on the event further described some of the damage and range of the earthquake.
The earthquake caused damage at Lima, where the shock was “of considerable violence and caused much excitement.” Plaster was shaken from ceilings east and southeast of Columbus at Zanesville, Ohio, and Parkersburg, W. Va. Windows and dishes were broken at Defiance and Norwalk, Ohio; to the west at Fort Wayne and Muncie, Ind.; to the north at Lansing, Mich.; and to the east at Wheeling, W. Va. Furniture was displaced and 14 buildings were heavily shaken at Urbana, Ohio, in Champaign County, and at many other towns in the regions. Also felt in Iowa, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and western Ontario, Canada, and at Washington, D.C. by workmen on top of the unfinished Washington Monument.

The exact epicenter was never determined, but research long after put the likely origin in Allen County.

The United Stated Geological Survey, or USGS, puts out an earthquake map with all current and past earthquakes from around the world. Users can select regions and search for earthquakes going back a century or more, or search based on magnitudes.

Strange Columbus 1925 Earthquake

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Strange Columbus 1925 earthquake

At 9:23PM on Saturday night, the 28th of February, 1925, Columbus- along with the rest of Ohio and most of the Eastern US- experienced an earthquake.. The epicenter wasn’t particularly close, as it was located in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska area along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. However, due to the geology of eastern North America, the 6.2 magnitude earthquake’s energy spread out for significant distances.

Around the epicenter, there was moderate damage to buildings, including collapsed chimneys and walls. Further out, the earthquake caused chaos and problems in many eastern US cities. In Detroit, hotel and theater guests ran into the streets, many mistaking the earthquake for a nearby explosion. In New York City, the earthquake’s tremors lasted between 2-3 minutes and were said to be the strongest the city had ever felt up to that time. In Washington DC, the 25-second movement became strong enough to knock the seismograph needle off its track. In Louisville, a telegraph operator’s equipment was shaken loose from its table.

In Columbus, meanwhile, residents were startled to feel their homes and apartment buildings begin moving. Pictures rattled on walls, light fixtures swayed and loose objects tumbled from shelves.

At the State School for the Blind Downtown, the superintendent reported that walls and windows shook for at least 2 minutes. Residents were alarmed by the movement and rushed about in panic in all directions, thinking the building might collapse on top of them.

At the Dennison Hotel, patrons reported that at least 3 separate shocks hit the building. The first lasted between 30-45 seconds, with two additional movements of shorter duration. A woman there reported a “peculiar sound” during the quake, equating it to the sound of “heavy fire trucks” moving past.

Elsewhere in Ohio, a train in Zanesville noticeably trembled while in motion, and passengers had to transfer to other lines as there were unconfirmed reports that tracks had been damaged near Trinway. In Lancaster, pool balls in billiard rooms rolled about on tables and rocking chairs moved about. In Cleveland, the offices of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shook for a least a minute, while in Canton, the 3 distinct shocks swayed buildings several inches.

Despite the movement and relative long duration of the shaking, damage in Columbus- and Ohio in general- was limited to a few broken items that had fallen from cabinets and shelves.