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Saturday, April 21, 2018

The Great Chesterton Earthquake of 1899

When considering earthquakes in the United States, Porter County, Indiana, is simply not a location that comes to mind. On Saturday, February 11, 1899, at approximately 4:00 am, however, an earthquake struck the Chesterton area, and news of this event was reported nationwide.

Felt throughout the county, the main shock lasted five seconds, reportedly shaking and rattling the windows of every building in Chesterton. The initial jolt was followed by at least three aftershocks.

Composite of headlines concerning the February 11, 1899,
earthquake in Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana.

Chesterton residents ran into the streets or sought shelter in their cellars. A night watchman on College Hill in Valparaiso stated that he felt two vibrations at the time of the earthquake. Minor shocks were detected at Burdick, Hebron, and Wheeler.

Evidence of the earthquake was observable; ground fissures running in many directions were discovered in the streets at Chesterton, Hebron, Valparaiso, and several other locations in Westchester Township, some reported to be as wide as three inches.

Several buildings were mentioned to have been damaged in Chesterton, though none were reported to be affected in Valparaiso. For instance, the February 11 issue of the Chicago Tribune stated that:
Several buildings [in Chesterton], especially a jewelry store, Swonson's [Swanson's] grocery store, and churches suffered considerable damage.
Interestingly, despite the unusual nature of this event, The Chesterton Tribune published only a passing notice of the earthquake in its February 11 issue. The single paragraph mentions that a fissure appeared in the street crossing from Swanson & Johnson's store to the Myron B. Smith & Son's building, where present day Broadway Avenue intersects with Calumet Road.

Another crack ran across the street adjacent to Ed Schaper's jewelry store, where present day Grant Avenue intersects with Calumet Road. Chesterton's postmaster, Charles E. Hillstrom, was reported to have been awakened by the earthquake and initially believed it was the result of someone's safe being blown up in town.

There was also evidence of the earthquake outside the boundaries of Porter County. The February 17 issue of the Huntington Herald, for instance, reported that:
As a result of the earthquake at Chesterton, near this city, Friday, a fissure three inches wide was found on a marsh one mile south of here. A fissure eight inches wide and of unknown depth was also found on a division street road between New Carlisle and South Bend.
The earthquake database maintained by the Indiana Geological and Water Survey at Indiana University reveals that this earthquake's magnitude was estimated to be 4.1. Curiously, the earthquake's epicenter is placed slightly northwest of the intersection of county roads 50 South and 500 West in LaPorte County, about one-half mile north of Pinola. Contemporary newspaper reports, however, are silent with regard to this earthquake being felt anywhere within LaPorte County.

The Chesterton seismic event may have been associated with earthquakes that took place in the Midwest the two previous days. On February 9, an earthquake occurred near Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, followed by another temblor on February 10 in Montcalm County, Michigan.

The only other known earthquake to center itself within Porter County occurred at 12:30 am on February 12, 1938. This 3.7 magnitude earthquake was felt primarily at Valparaiso and had an approximate duration of three seconds. The Indiana State Police reported that it had received reports concerning this seismic event from Paw Paw, Van Buren County, Michigan, and the southern reaches of Chicago.

Source Material

Newspapers (listed by date of publication)
Logansport Daily Journal, Logansport, Cass County, Indiana; February 10, 1899; Volume 24, Number 35, Page 10, Column 5. Column titled "Earthquake in Kentucky."

The Chesterton Tribune, Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana; February 11, 1899; Volume 15, Number 44, Page 1, Column 3. Column titled "Chesterton Chips."

The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana; February 11, 1899; Volume 25, Page 1, Column 1. Column titled "Earthquake in Michigan. Houses in Montcalm County Rocked and Dishes Flung From Shelves."

The Chicago Sunday Tribune, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; February 12, 1899; Volume 58, Number 43, Page 2, Column 6. "Earthquake Shakes Indiana. Valparaiso Reports a Disturbance and Large Fissures in the Earth's Surface."


The New York Times, New York, New York County, New York; February 12, 1899; Volume 48, Number 15317, Page 5, Column 4. Column titled "Earthquake in Indiana. Severe Shocks Alarm the People and Break Open the Ground."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri; February 12, 1899; Volume 50, Number 180, Page 20, Column 6. Column titled "Earthquakes in Indiana. Severe Shocks Felt in Porter County and Fissures Open in the Ground."

The Daily Times, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey; February 13, 1899; Number 35, Page 3, Column 4. Column titled "Indiana Has an Earthquake."

Franklin Evening News, Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania; February 13, 1899; Volume 21, Number 6452, Page 2, Column 2. Column titled "Earthquake in a Hoosier Town."

The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana; February 13, 1899; Volume 30, Number 59, Page 8, Column 4. Column titled "Earthquake Shock at Chesterton."


The Kearney Daily Hub, Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska; February 13, 1899; Volume 11, Number 94, Page 4, Column 5. Column titled "Earthquake Shock in Indiana."

New-York Tribune, New York, New York County, New York; February 13, 1899; Volume 58, Number 10083, Page 3, Column 6. Column titled "The Ground Heaved and Split. Earthquake of Considerable Violence in Porter County, Ind."

The Logansport Pharos, Logansport, Cass County, Indiana; February 13, 1899; Volume 23, Number 296, Page 2, Column 1. Column titled "Earthquake Shocks Reported."

Morning World Herald, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska; February 13, 1899; Volume 34, Number 136, Page 6, Column 6. Column titled "Earthquake Shocks Felt."

The Omaha Daily Bee, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska; February 13, 1899; Page 1, Column 6. Column titled "Earthquake Shocks in Indiana."

The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland; February 13, 1899; Volume 124, Number 76, Page 7, Column 3. Column titled "Telegraphic Briefs."

The Times, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; February 13, 1899; Number 8534, Page 5, Column 7. Column titled "Fissures in the Streets. Severe Earthquake Shock Does Damage in Indiana."

The Times, Washington, D.C.; February 13, 1899; Number 1762, Page 1, Column 4. Column titled An Earthquake in Indiana. It Leaves Big Cracks in the Streets of Chesterton."

Trenton Evening News, Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey; February 13, 1899; Volume 15, Number 5825, Page 2, Column 2. Column titled "Indiana Has an Earthquake."

Cherokee County Republican, Baxter Springs, Cherokee County, Kansas; February 14, 1899; Volume 6, Number 104, Page 1, Column 4. Column titled "General News."

Plainfield Courier-News, Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey; February 14, 1899; Page 3, Column 7. Column titled "Indiana Has an Earthquake."

Carlisle Daily Herald, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; February 15, 1899; Volume 8, Number 127, Page 3, Column 2. Column titled "Earthquake in Indiana."

The Evening Sentinel, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; February 15, 1899; Volume 18, Number 55, Page 1, Column 5. Column titled "Earthquake in Indiana."

Daily News-Democrat, Huntington, Huntington County, Indiana; February 15, 1899; Volume 2, Number 272, Page 2, Column 4. Column titled "Split by an Earthquake."

Punxsutawney News, Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania; February 15, 1899; Volume 14, Number 21, Page 2, Column 2. Column titled "Terse Telegrams."

Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa; February 15, 1899; Volume 9, Number 2561, Page 2, Column 5. Column titled "Found a Fissure in the Marsh."

The Bradford Star, Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania; February 16, 1899; Volume 5, Number 251, Page 3, Column 3. Column titled "Personal Mention."

The Hancock Democrat, Greenfield, Hancock County, Indiana; February 16, 1899; Volume 77, Number 10, Page 4, Column 2."

Huntington Herald, Huntington, Huntington County, Indiana; February 17, 1899; Volume 51, Number 34, Page 2, Column 4. Column titled "Found a Fissure in the Marsh."

Tuckhannock Republican, Tuckhannock, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania; February 17, 1899; Volume 30, Number 28, Page 2 Column 5. Column titled "Earthquake in Indiana."

The Diamond Drill, Crystal Falls, Iron County, Michigan; February 18, 1899; Volume 13, Number 5, Page 2, Column 1. Column titled "Domestic."

The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; February 12, 1938; Volume 11, Page 1, Column 3. Column titled "Valparaiso Had An Earthquake; Did You Feel It?"

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