Back in Time | Aspen

“Whether the large vote being given to the Democratic candidates throughout the United States, or that which was being cast for J.B. Grant in Colorado, caused the earth to shake and the mighty in high places to look down and tremble, is hard to determine, but certain it is that Aspen came near getting tolerably well shook up,” observed the Aspen Times Weekly on Nov. 11, 1882. “The shock was felt at about half-past six o’clock on Tuesday evening, just as many of our citizens were taking their evening meal. In most cases the first indication was the tipping of tables, the swinging of cages, and the tingling of alarms in clocks. The most perceptible vibration of any building in town was the opera house of Smith and Corkell on Hopkins Avenue. By the statement of Mr. Stone, of Blood, Stone & Co., this building must have swayed back and forth several inches. The shock apparently passed from west to east, and was of eight to ten seconds’ duration.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.