August 27, 1833 Earthquake: Central Virginia, Virginia, United States

Reference #14462:

Earthquake of Aug 27, 1833, Central Virginia, (Tuesday, 0600 Hrs.), Felt Area: 60,000 sq mi.

Powhatan County, Va. - An old lady described the reverberation of the 1833 earthquake as "almost equal to this of recent date [Dec. 22, 1875], but only one convulsion." Caved in a coal mine near her home, the Old Powhatan Pits, killing fifteen or twenty or more, creating intense excitement through the whole county, and causing the mines to be abandoned. [Not true, see story under Richmond.] {DD 12/28/75)

Richmond, Va. -Brown's Coal Pits, about twenty miles above Richmond, near Dover Mills: One of the hands, very much alarmed at the violence of the shock, tried to climb out on a rope but lost his hold and fell back killing himself and one other. The other persons at the bottom escaped uninjured. Noise at the pit "was such as would have been made by an immense torrent of water descending with great violence to its bottom." (N&PH 8/30/33) Houses violently shaken. Doors, windows, and all pendant bodies experienced a considerable vibration. Accompanied by a rumbling noise like the sound of the Omnibus rattling down the streets. Lasted less than a minute and appeared to move from northeast to southwest. Brown's Coal Pits did not cave in. A violent concussion and noise causing much alarm, and two men killed when one tried to escape on the rope of an ascending coal bucket. (N&PH 8/30/33)

Reference #13456:

A rather strong shock agitated walls of buildings at Lynchburg and rattled windows violently. Fences along the road were shaken near the Louisa County Courthouse, northwest of Richmond. It was described as "severe" at Charlottesville, about 85 km northeast of Lynchburg. Two miners were killed in a panic caused by the tremor at a mine near Richmond. MacCarthy (1958) suggests a Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI at the epicenter, although no damage was documented. Also felt in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and North Carolina.