Museum Moments

Two hundred years ago the earth shuddered, literally.  The New Madrid fault began to move and shift causing almost an entire year of quakes and tremors.  These quakes of 1811-1812 remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the eastern United States in recorded history.

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The 200th anniversary of this event as well as the new Geologic Mapping Project that has been done in the Union, Pontotoc and Lee  Counties WellSpring Area is the topic of July’s Museum Moments set for noon on Thursday, July 19, at the Union County Heritage Museum.

University of Mississippi Geologist Dr. Charles Swann will tell some of the event filled history of the New Madrid 1812 quakes as well as talk about area fault lines discovered in the recent mapping project.  “We want to hold a public meeting regarding the mapping project and invite those who will benefit from this information,” Swann said.

This mapping project is of value to city officials and planners, contractors, engineers, and others who want to know the best places to build structures and the places to avoid due to the composition of the soils, said Dr. Swann.  There are certain soils in the three county area that cause problems with foundations and structures, and it is useful to be aware of these things before deciding on building sites, he said.

Swann has discovered fault lines in the mapped area and will talk about these as well as tell some of the history associated with the catastrophic quakes of 200 years ago. The event is free, a light lunch will be served beginning at 11:30 and the program will begin at noon.  

 For more information call the museum, located at 114 Cleveland Street in New Albany, at 662-538-0014.