On June 29, 1869, just before 8 p.m., the Puget Sound region had an earthquake that was felt from Astoria, Oregon, to San Juan Island and perhaps all the way to Victoria, British Columbia. At Seattle the earthquake is described by the Portland Oregonian as "much heavier than any before known in this vicinity."
Dishes Thrown
The Oregonian continued, "All the buildings on a line through the center of town, commencing at the Occidental Hotel and terminating at Messrs. Atkins and Shundy's [Shoudy's] wharf, were quite perceptibly shaken." The quake was strong enough to cause the citizenry to rush from their dwellings into the streets. The main damage in Seattle was dishes thrown from shelves. The earthquake, which occurred between 7:50 and 7:55, was described as severe in Olympia and Astoria, Oregon. An aftershock followed about four hours later.
A week before, on June 22, 1869, just before 5 a.m., Seattle and Olympia felt an earthquake. According to the June 29, 1869 Victoria, British Columbia Daily British Colonist, the quake in Olympia "terrified all who are in the least inclined to timidity."
Sources:
Ruth Ludwin, "June 1869 Puget Sound Earthquakes," in Ruth Ludwin and A. I. Quamar, A Database Catalog of Cascadia Earthquakes (Reston: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, 2000) Appendix 3 (http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/ HIST_CAT/Special/1869.html). Newspaper quotations were taken from the website.
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that
encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both
HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any
reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this
Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For
more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact
the source noted in the image credit.
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided
By:
The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins
| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry
| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle
| City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach
Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private
Sponsors and Visitors Like You