When the earth began to rumble in the trading settlement of New Madrid in southeastern Missouri on December 16, 1811, it was the start of a series of earthquakes that would continue in the area for months. Three of the tremors were among the largest to strike North America since European settlement. At the time, …
At Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site in New Madrid, visitors can explore a grand Southern mansion while learning about the families who shaped the development of Missouri’s southeastern lowlands for a century and a half.
Based on eyewitness accounts and geological evidence, seismologists estimate the New Madrid earthquake to have been 8.0 on today’s Richter scale. The shock waves were felt from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains, and from southern Canada to northern Mexico.
The first meeting of the general assembly of the Missouri Territory took place, which named the five original counties: St. Louis, St. Charles, Sainte Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid.
Bicentennial project tells the story of Missouri.
The first shocks occurred in the largest earthquake ever to shake North America. It was centered on the New Madrid Fault in Missouri. Read More about this in Tales From Missouri and the Heartland.
Colonel George Morgan and seventy colonists established the city of New Madrid on this date.
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