Basement walls crumble, wells dry up and nature shook the valley nearly 300 years ago today

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For nearly 300 years – give or take a few days to adjust the calendar over the centuries – Haverhill suffered one of its most disastrous landscapes.

By most accounts, the summer of 1727 was troublesome in the Merrimack Valley. It was extremely hot, punctuated by heavy rainstorms accompanied by strong winds, often accompanied by thunder and lightning. As summer turned into autumn, things should have cooled to more bearable levels.

Instead, on September 16th, a “severe gust of wind and rain” hit the area. Trees were uprooted across the area, and a tidal wave swept up 200 loads of dry hay from Newbury’s salt marshes. Based on damage and wind trends reported in Boston, the North Shore was hit by a strong right-front quarter of a Category 1 hurricane that came ashore on South Beach.

The trapped colonists were forced to save their crop, repair damage, and clean up storm debris before winter sets in. By the end of October, things were back to normal.

Then, at 10:30 PM, on Sunday October 29, 1727, God’s Fury raged on the Merrimack Valley for three endless minutes. An earthquake estimated at at least 6.3 on the modern Richter scale has struck. It was centered off the coast of Newburyport. The aftershocks lasted for a week, and homes shook and the air filled with thunder. On the night of December 24th, two major tremors caused intense thunder and caused homes to shake again. This shock was reported from the Charles River to Cusco Bay.

It wasn’t the first earthquake to hit the area, nor was it the last, but it was probably the deadliest earthquake to hit the area. Seismic activity terrified Haverhill as early as 1643, with major earthquakes occurring in 1755 and 1827. To this day, New England is still very active in terms of earthquakes, although most of the activity can only be measured with a gauge Earthquakes. The area north of Boston is full of fault lines. The fault closest to Haverhill is known as the Newbury-Clinton Fault Zone. Branching out of this major bug are hundreds of subtle defects that spread like tendrils.

The Newbury-Clinton Fault Zone is not considered active. It is the geological equivalent of a scar from the tormented past of the planet. It may not have moved in over 140 million years. However, when the active fault moves off the coast under the Atlantic, energy travels along the ancient fault line as well, vibrating along it like a severed guitar string.

Foot-wide fissures shattered the ground in Newport. In Newbury, more than 10 sand springs erupted from the muddy lowlands. When sand was thrown on the fire it burned like sulfur. Throughout the area, cellar walls collapsed, wells dried up, and springs redirected. Piles of sand appeared in the Merrimack River.

Hampton appears to be closest to the epicenter. Flashes of earthquake light have been reported. One or two witnesses saw streams of bluish light traveling along the Earth (piezoelectric discharge). In the south of the city, the ground broke open and dumped water and bluish fine sand, causing the surrounding land to liquefy.

Haverhill said clocks were off, chimneys collapsed, brick homes smashed and stone walls scattered in all directions. The aftershocks echoed for most of the year, with 30 aftershocks recorded between January and May 1728.

Even Cotton Mather, New England’s most famous natural philosopher, didn’t know what to do from this earthquake. Its scope and power were beyond the sometimes reported tremors Mather wrote that the cause may also have natural causes, but this terrifying event deserves serious theological thinking for the time being.

Ministers in the earthquake zone had neither the time nor the inclination to discuss scientific or divine causes. They had more pressing fears – the horror of the subjects wanted to know why God shook the earth. The simple answer was the principle of the Puritan mindset: New England was the land of sin, and God always punished sin. The Puritan mindset concluded that New England was particularly vulnerable to divine punishment because, however, being inhabited by Puritans, it was a God-appointed place and relied on a higher level of behavior.

Satisfaction with religion was shaken by the earthquake, and repentance and reform suddenly seemed wise even to the more relaxed members of the congregation. John Brown, minister of the first Haverhill parish, wrote to John Cotton, Newton’s minister. Although the earthquake was felt throughout Massachusetts, it was evident that the lower Merrimack Valley felt the brunt of the seismic activity. Brown wrote on November 20, 1727, that not a day went by without the noise of an earthquake. He reported a sudden, if not unexpected, interest of the townspeople in their immortal souls. On Monday October 30, the day after the earthquake, Haverhill instituted a day of fasting with a full boardroom. As aftershocks continued in the area, another day of fasting (again with a full conference house) was held on 1 November. Brown crossed to Bradford on Thursday to help the clergy stacked in that village.

The governor declared November 9 a day of thanks. Fasting, prayer, special sermons – all to glorify the Lord and celebrate that no deaths occurred, and we hope that you continue in the strong presence of the church. Brown admitted to Cotton that he hardly had time to eat, let alone write a Thanksgiving sermon. He was too busy offering condolences to the fearful, counseling the religious, and supporting previously fallen church members. For an entire week before and after Thanksgiving Day, he would graze his flock, in the morning even after sunset.

The result was what Brown felt was a public reform. More than 200 Haverhillites were accepted into full handling the year following the earthquake. Another 148 possessed the covenant. Baptism increased greatly, as did those receiving the Eucharist. Haverhill was not alone in seeing this rise in religiosity induced by earthquakes. Brown reports that Young Exeter has 40 baptisms, and Amesbury was unable to convince people to stop praying and leave the meeting house.

In the wake of Thanksgiving Day, many ministers have printed special sermons in booklets, available for a small fee to worshipers and interested parties. Published speeches were rare. Paper was scarce, and the proliferation of speeches is evidence of the importance placed in the aftermath of the earthquake.

John Cotton’s pamphlet, “The Sacred Fear of God, and His Judgments, Exhort: In a Sermon he gave in Newton, 3 November 1727. On a day of fasting and prayer, due to the terrible earthquake that shook New-England, on the previous Lords-Day night,” includes a copy of John Brown’s report from Haverhill, giving a rare direct account from the epicenter.

Cotton Mather was right in saying that the Great Earthquake deserves serious theological consideration. However, the many days of fasting and thanksgiving for miraculous salvation did not eliminate the aftershocks. Therefore, in the long run, the earthquake added to the growing divide between Puritan theology and the burgeoning school of scientific rationalism, which continues to resonate to this day.

David Godsward, who grew up atop Scotland Hill, Haverhill, brings him New England sentiments and respect for the historical perspective of his work. Although he lives in Florida, his bibliography mainly consists of New England subjects. His most recent book, Sun, Sand, and Sea Snakes. The book, which is its published 17th title, covers sea snake reports from Florida, the Lower East Coast, and the Caribbean. “Sun, Sand, and Sea Serpents” in addition to previous Goudsward titles may be ordered from local bookstores or from Amazon.

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