The River Roared Beneath Us: How the New Madrid Earthquake Shaped Land and People.

(Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Upon visiting New Madrid, Missouri, there are several reminders of the largest earthquake to ever rumble east of the Rockies.

Southern Missouri folks are made of a certain stubborn stuff. We’ve faced floods, harsh winters, droughts and the wild whims of Mother Nature, and regardless, we work the land, care for our livestock, and build communities that endure. Resilience runs in our veins — it’s how generations of farmers, traders, and riverfolk continue to thrive in the beautiful Ozarks.

In honor of an event more than two centuries past, Southern Missouri Lifestyle Magazine takes a moment to reflect on a time when the earth shook harder than a winter storm or a deadly bolt of thunderstorm's force. The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812 left the "Mighty Mississippi " running backward, people terrified, forests trembling, and stories that still ripple through history books and hometown folk's minds each January.

(Courtesy: Wikipedia)

A smalltown with a huge legacy, New Madrid, Missouri lays claim to a region that captures fascination from not only visitors, but also history buffs worldwide.  

The following is a historical documentation taken from an eyewitness who lived through the New Madrid Fault earthquake.

"I will never forget that morning. We’d been anchored with the dawn mist rising off the river, the water smooth as glass under a thin layer of steam. You could see stubborn mules standing on "the big muddy's" river bank. Their ears would perk when the boiler hissed like an upset woman. As I sipped strong coffee, with my elbows resting against the rail, everything seemed still — familiar. Without warning,a flock of birds scattered and the mules cleared away from the river bank. Then the earth spoke. It wasn’t wind or thunder. The Mississippi itself seemed to groan from beneath its bed. The surface bulged, then rippled backward — against its flow — as though some unseen beast had turned its gaze upstream. Trees cracked like splintering timber, ropes snapped, and the timbers of our boat seemed to shudder in protest. I fell flat like I'd been shot! Struggling to grab hold of anything secure, I clutched a cold metal rail. For a moment, I thought the whole world might collapse into the river!"

(Courtesy: Wikipedia)

It must have been a terrifying sight. With no warning, absolute terror flooded the countryside. Ships were tossed back and forth like play toys in an angry basin of the Mississippi River.

A Frontier Life, Upended!

Around 1811, New Madrid, Missouri, was a small frontier town clinging to the banks of the Mississippi. Cabins were scattered, the population sparse, and life revolved around the river, farms, and the occasional trapper. The land was largely an unsettled forest and farmland crudely carved from musty river bottomland, and the town’s population numbered only a few hundred. Life wasn't too bad, but things were about to change. The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812 would see to that. 

A Sequence of Tremors.

Surprising many history buffs, the New Madrid Earthquake wasn’t a single event — it was a SERIES of massive quakes stretching over months. 

• December 16, 1811: The first and most powerful shock, estimated at magnitude 7 to 8, shook homes and cabins across the frontier. Some accounts describe water in wells sloshing violently and sand fissures opening across the land.

• January 23, 1812: Another huge tremor split the earth in multiple places, warping forests and displacing entire fields.

• February 7, 1812: The third quake struck New Madrid itself, leveling much of the town and creating new lakes and swamps in the river bottoms.

And the tremors didn’t end there. Aftershocks continued for months, and smaller quakes rattled the region for years, leaving an entire generation devastated by fear and living on edge.

(Courtesy: WDRB)

The New Madrid Fault (or New Madrid Seismic Zone, NMSZ) is a major, active fault system in the central U.S. Mississippi Valley, and remains the most seismically active area east of the Rockies, stretching across parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. It's a complex network of underground faults, not a single visible line, characterized by frequent small tremors and the potential for large, damaging events, linked to an ancient rift in the Earth's crust. 

Why Few Lives Were Lost Back Then.

Despite their power, these terrifying earthquakes claimed surprisingly few lives in the 1811-1812 timespan. The frontier’s sparse population meant fewer buildings and fewer people in harm’s way. Most settlers lived in log cabins that, while flimsy by modern standards, were low and flexible — capable of withstanding the shaking better than heavier brick structures. Livestock, however, were often panicked, and many animals were lost. The land itself, upheaved by the quakes, became treacherous for both humans and animals alike. But the small population helped ensure that the quakes were more transformative than tragic.

Strange Happenings During the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812.

The New Madrid earthquakes were the biggest earthquakes in American history. They occurred in the central Mississippi Valley, but were felt as far away as New York City, Boston, Montreal, and Washington D.C. President James Madison and his wife Dolly felt them in the White House. Church bells rang in Boston. From December 16, 1811 through March of 1812 there were over 2,000 earthquakes in the central Midwest, and between 6,000-10,000 earthquakes in the Bootheel of Missouri where New Madrid is located near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

In the known history of the world, no other earthquakes have lasted so long or produced so much evidence of damage as the New Madrid earthquakes. Three of the earthquakes are on the list of America's top earthquakes: the first one on December 16, 1811, a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale; the second on January 23, 1812, at 7.8; and the third on February 7, 1812, at as much as 8.8 magnitude.

In an area of sparse population, there surprisingly were a few informal studies of the multitude of quakes that shook the New Madrid region. Turns out, while no formal seismologists existed then, naturalist John James Audubon was a key contemporary observer of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes, vividly documenting the ground's motion and Mississippi River reversals. He was in Missouri during the quakes and provided detailed descriptions, noting the ground undulated like water, the earth emitting odors, and the Mississippi River flowing backward.

As well, the New Madrid earthquakes were significant events for those who lived closest to the land, such as Native American communities, fur trappers, explorers and farmers. Perhaps their most scientific method of determining the severity of the quakes was measured in the disruption of their lands and trade routes. Accounts from settlers in the sparsely populated region described phenomena like the ground heaving and trees snapping.

(Courtesy: Audubon Society)