Effects of the New Madrid quake On Swifts Markers

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Ken S.

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Oct 1, 2018
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Paintsville,Ky.
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Has anyone ever given any thought to the effect the New Madrid Quake of 1811/1812 had on some of the marker mention in the Swift legend?? The needle eye rock, the rock bridges and natural arches are just a few that come to mind . I'm sure with the quake there was many arches that collapsed . The quake was so strong it rang church bells in Boston, change the coarse of the Mississippi river. What effect has heavy rains had on some of the other markers along creeks ?? Just a few year ago there was a massive flood on Mud Lick creek that moved rocks half the size of a common house . Just things to think about while out in the wilderness . In reality we still live in a wilderness not a lot unlike Swifts days.
 

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Yes, I mentioned it in another thread. Its quite possible the 'great cave' entrance was collapsed or covered up. The mine entrance could have as well. Landmarks too may have as well. Another natural source of landscaping are hurricanes. Any that come inland from the Carolina coast will affect the Mountains. When Hugo hit our area of the state (near Louisville) in the early 1990s it came from the South East and stopped and then moved East North East. It rained for days like I have never seen before or since.
 

I have pondered it many times and wondered what effect it had on the fault line that run through the state also.
 

You would probably have to consult a geologist as to any 'recent' activity along any of those faults. I have no idea how they could detect something like that from 200 yrs ago vs something from say 800 yrs ago.
 

If you want to gasp in awe, read the report to Congress from that quake. It is online. There were not that many settlers in the region, but it was so violent, forests sunk, islands in the Mississippi disappeared, a boat anchored in the river at sunrise realized the land they were anchored to was simply not there anymore, black ash/coal and fire came out of the ground, the quake was felt in Charleston, SC and church bells RANG all the way up north in Boston, MA. And my favorite part, the Mississippi River ran BACKWARDS for awhile. San Andreas, move over. PLUS this fault historically blows every 200 years. Want to do the math on that one? Today, Memphis would crumble, the bridges on the Mississippi would collapse, the natural gas pipelines coming from the west would break, etc. If memory serves the 1811/12 quakes would register over 8 maybe a 9 on today's equipment. NOT something to look forward to.
 

smokeythecat said:
If you want to gasp in awe, read the report to Congress from that quake. It is online. There were not that many settlers in the region, but it was so violent, forests sunk, islands in the Mississippi disappeared, a boat anchored in the river at sunrise realized the land they were anchored to was simply not there anymore, black ash/coal and fire came out of the ground, the quake was felt in Charleston, SC and church bells RANG all the way up north in Boston, MA. And my favorite part, the Mississippi River ran BACKWARDS for awhile. San Andreas, move over. PLUS this fault historically blows every 200 years. Want to do the math on that one? Today, Memphis would crumble, the bridges on the Mississippi would collapse, the natural gas pipelines coming from the west would break, etc. If memory serves the 1811/12 quakes would register over 8 maybe a 9 on today's equipment. NOT something to look forward to.
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I have read that report and you are correct, it will make you gasp. That quake is what created Reel Foot lake. There is a documentary on youtube about it that I saw as well.
 

The town at the bottom of the newly formed lake back then is a matter of curiosity..wonder if there are some neat artifacts-treasure- left in a hurry..dont know about casualties..another thing that scared a lot of people were the sand gysers..they happened all over the mississipit valley..sand gysers shot something like 40 feet into the air...people thooght it was the end of the world.
 

Yes, people did think it was the end of the world.
 

I know they say it was felt in Boston and Charleston, Chicago and Washington. I wonder if there are any local KY reports of damage in newspapers. Just trying to quantify the intensity of the quakes in East KY. I have not found any maps with rings of intensity on this series of quakes yet. Did Lexington, KY feel a 5.5 on the rector scale or a 3.2...? This might settle any thoughts of possible burying of entrances or collapsing of arches ect.
 

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There were very few people of European descent in that area at the time. Houses were generally log cabins and there were still quite a few native Americans around. I believe the only newspapers I have seen were from establish east coast cities. There really were not much in the line of a real mid to large size town in that area at that time.
 

Louisville was established in 1792..?...ish. 1812 would be 19-20 years later. Populations moving into KY by then was thin by today's standards but not sparce. Census records of 1800 of KY were burned by the British during the war of 1812. When I visited Cumberland Gap N.P. 19yrs ago I remember a stat of approximately 200,000 'settlers' came West through the gap using the wilderness road. Many more came down the Ohio River on raft or down Zanes trace from Zanesville, OH. I think the KY Gazette was the first paper in the state, now the Lexington Herald Leader...guess I need to follow this rabbit down this hole and see what I can find.
 

I had a great uncle that said his grandad told of a bridge collapse on Paint Creek during the big quake.
 

It would be nice to see a picture of what it looks like after a collapse, any idea where on Paint Creek it was?
 

KY Hiker said:
It would be nice to see a picture of what it looks like after a collapse, any idea where on Paint Creek it was?
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Not really, been 50 years +/- since I heard him tell the story. Don't remember what he called the place . He has passed away many years ago now.
 

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