Yesterday, city residents were alarmed when windows rattled. Aftershocks lasted the entire day and late into the evening. Few realized that Jacksonville could be affected by the same affliction as California’s coastline.
Citizens were upset by the lack of preparedness and total inability of local officials to forecast such an event. They called for the immediate ousting of the Mayor and several of his leading staff members.
Rarely is the word earthquake mentioned when discussing the city of Jacksonville, Florida. But, in the late 1800’s, Jacksonville’s earth rolled
and shook with such intensity that it was assumed that the worst was yet to come.
Everyone was well aware that, since ninety percent of the city’s buildings were constructed out of wood, the slightest shockwave could spell firestorm. It had happened to San Francisco, why not Jacksonville? Fear struck at the hearts and minds of all those who experienced the trembling.
Maybe it would have been alright if this were the first time. But, there were those who had already ridden the rocking ground several times.
On May 21, 1902, sounds were heard which seemed to originate out in the ocean. “It sounded similar to cannon fire off in the distance”, said one seasoned soldier. Another man said the he was in Charleston, South Carolina, during one of its earthquakes. As he spit a wad of chew, he said, “Shoot, it sounded just like that what I heard up there. I’m telling ya, we better all be ware.”
A man standing nearby threw his arm up, then down in utter disgust and muttered, “Ahhhhhh fools.” As he walked away from the crowd he, added, “We’ve never had no damage, we’ll never have no damage.” He might be right.
Another man mentioned that the disgusted individual was from a Minorcan (original land owners of the St. Augustine area) who had lived here for generations.
A group of citizens gathered at the sea wall. Several took notes of the intervals in between the loud blasts. With regard to the timing between sounds, one credible-looking gentleman said, “They are about three minutes apart.”
As early as 1879, earthquakes were reportedly felt in Jacksonville. A “severe shock” rocked the area on January 13, 1879, for over 20 seconds. Residents reported that the shockwave moved from Southeast to Northwest. Dishes rattled, the buildings shook violently, and doors of homes were suddenly thrown open. Other cities in Florida felt the shock. People in St. Augustine felt the earth move, and even those living on the Gulf Coast from from Punta Rassa to St. Mark’s experienced it. Areas in between reported that they “felt something.”
On January 14, 1879, a shock hit Savannah, Georgia, which was felt throughout Florida. This startling tremor struck at 11:50 p.m.
A giant tidal wave, supposedly caused by another earthquake, struck the coastline with such intensity that the huge wave continued up the St. Johns River. Boats were overturned, other boats were smashed against docks, and still others were found up on shore quite a distance from the water. On August 31, 1886, this ground shaker surprised everyone on the east coast. Inland, people were thrown to the ground, and plaster was knocked from the ceilings.
The rocking tremor was felt as far away as Tallahassee. The State House reported that large chunks of its building had fallen to the ground. According to reports, every state east of the Mississippi felt some form of shaking. Charleston, South Carolina, took the brunt of the earthquake. Over two thirds of Charleston was destroyed.
Jacksonville experienced a shockwave one month later when another earthquake struck Charleston, South Carolina. This occurred on September 3, 1886, and was felt as far North as Pennsylvania and as far South as our city.
Back in October 31, 1901, eight distinct shocks struck Jacksonville.
Although no real damage was done, the first loud boom was heard at 11:00 a.m. The crowd that gathered to discuss the noise said that it sounded like “loud ordinances.”
The next shock struck about 11:25 a.m. with the same intensity as the one at 11:00 a.m. At 11:40 a.m., another shock hit, followed by another at 11:55 a.m. The last shock of that grouping occurred at 12:15 a.m.
A shock at 4:04 p.m. alarmed quite a few people. It was more severe than the morning shockwaves. No one noticed any fluctuations in the ocean waves.
But, Mr. Mitchell, Director of the Weather Bureau, said that “unofficially” he thought that the vibrations were “beginning in the South and heading North.” He added that, “he did not have possession of the neccesary equipment to prove his opinion.”
According to a New York Times report, dated July 21, 1930, a small earthquake shock took place in Ft. Myers on July 20th that year. In 1931, a New York state earthquake rattled the dishes in Jacksonville. In 1952, another quake shook Jacksonville.
In 1973, the people of Merrit Island, Florida, were startled awake when a 3.5 quake struck the area.
On December 4, 1975, a strong jolt struck Daytona Beach which registered 2.9 on the Richter Scale. Daytona’s public works Director who in ‘64 had lived through a real earthquake in Alaska reported that “the quake occurred and sounded just like the ‘ 64 quake he remembered.”
A 1976 St. Petersburg Times report stated that 20 to 30 families had moved from the Zephyrhills area because of a serious fear of a “tidal wave.” Other estimates at the time listed the figure at 200 to 2000 people.
On July 3, 1992, at 11:30 p.m., a giant tidal wave estimated to be 18 ft. high crashed on Daytona Beach, causing 75 minor injuries and crushing cars parked on the beach. Though its origin was claimed to be a weather squall, there is no way to prove it was not a distant shift in the earth.
In 1983, Palm Beach county experienced a minor shake from a earthquake.
On October 24, 1997, the Panhandle of Florida was rocked by earth tremors. Supposedly, it originated in central Alabama.
The last tremor to shake our city occurred in 2003. The ground shook in Jacksonville after a earthquake in Northeast Alabama tipped the Richter Scale at 4.9. Its ground tremoring rattle reached as far Northeast as North Carolina.
One of the most severe and the last to affect Florida occurred September 11, 2006. Tampa and a great deal of the West Coast of Florida were jolted by a 6.0 earthquake that occurred 260 miles off Tampa’s coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. At 10:56 a.m., the initial shock was felt. The U.S. Geological Survey staff reported that this was very unusual since it did not occur on any particularly known fault line.
We sleep comfortably at night knowing that “the big one” cannot happen in Jacksonville. But, with the ground continuing to tremble that can only mean one thing, “Be Prepared.”
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Joseph Miller is a life-long resident of Jacksonville, Florida, and an active member of the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville. As a historian, he recently completed his first book on the Founder of Rotary, Paul P. Harris, titled “That Paul Harris.”
Joseph can be reached at JaxHistory@gmail.com.
