Brooklyn, New York, USA (Flatlands) (Flatbush) (Coney Island)
1884 - A SHOCK OF EARTHQUAKE Felt Over a Large Region – A Vibratory Motion from Washington to Maine

...The policemen on the Brooklyn bridge report that the shock was distinctly felt there, and the great towers at either end oscillated visibly, while the bridge itself rocked as if struck by a hurricane. The shock was felt generally along the river fronts, and the piers were shaken as if by a heavily loaded truck passing over them. At the iron steamboat pier, which is built of solid masonry, the motion was so violent that the ticket-takers rushed from their offices to ascertain the cause of the commotion...

In Brooklyn the earthquake was felt very generally throughout the city. Along the river front and in the eastern district the chock appears to have been heavier and of longer duration. Everywhere people ran from their houses in terror. People in Greenpoint started on a run for the immense oil works which are located on the shore of Newton creek, thinking that an explosion had occurred there, while all the fire companies harnessed their horses in readiness to respond to an alarm of fire, which they thought would soon follow.

The sensation experienced on board the receiving ship Vermont, lying in the Brooklyn navy-yard, was similar to that felt when a broadside is discharged from a ship at some distance. According to the story of one of the sailors, there was a distinctly perceptible jar felt, and it was noticed by all on board. Persons traveling in street cars felt the vibration, and in many instances the wheels of the car seemed to leave the track, producing the same effect as when they pass over a loose switch.

The bell of a Presbyterian church in Greenpoint swayed back and forth and rang several times loud enough to be heard by all the people living in the neighborhood. Among other evidences of the violence of the agitation in Brooklyn may be mentioned the stopping of clocks, the throwing down of a high pile of bricks, the swinging of lamps and pictures and the like. Many of the Sunday-schools were in session at the time, and the teachers had in some instances great difficulty in allaying the fears of the scholars...

The Landmark
Statesville, North Carolina
August 15, 1884

Visit Brooklyn, New York, USA (Flatlands) (Flatbush) (Coney Island)
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.