EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE TO SCHOOLS

Collapse of Stone Entry at Elementary School in 1959 Earthquake

Earthquake of August 18, 1959, Hebgen Lake, Montana, USA. Location: near Hebgen Lake in southwestern Montana; Affected Area: 1,554,000 km2; Damage: 11 million. In addition to the damage to the elementary school at West Yellowstone, bricks were dislodged from chimneys and window ledges at Montana State College in Bozeman. There was some damage to the brick school at Busby. At Butte, the Franklin School incurred the greatest amount of damage. The chimney fell and the walls were badly cracked. The cost of repairs was estimated at 5,000 to 10,000. A large block fell from the top entrance of the Emerson School and the front steps were destroyed. Bricks in the chimney at Harrison school were cracked, and the cement columns fell from under the windows at the Longfellow School. The first floor on the south wing of Butte Public High School was damaged, and walls cracked. The decorative stone entryway at the West Yellowstone Elementary School fell into a heap of rubble during the 1959 Hegben Lake earthquake. The back wall of the school garage had severe diagonal cracks and later was torn down. The west parapet leaned on a tree. Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey (R.W. Bayley).