Dr. David Coffey, professor of history and chair of the Department of History and Philosophy, was the guest speaker at the June 12 “An Evening Upstairs” program hosted by the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah, Kentucky.
Coffey discussed the formation of Reelfoot Lake following high-magnitude earthquakes in 1811 and 1812 along the New Madrid Fault. “Reelfoot Lake is the only natural lake in Tennessee, and it’s a real treasure,” he told the audience. “…It’s Tennessee’s first official state park.”
Coffey also spoke about the earthquakes, said to have moved buildings as far as Boston, and some of the legends built around them, shedding doubt that the Mississippi River actually flowed backward.
“That probably didn’t happen,” he said. “There were waves that undoubtedly went backward, and there were certainly disruptions there. The earthquakes caused temporary waterfalls on the Mississippi, if you can imagine that.”
Information about the program was provided by Bobbie Wrinkle, adult program coordinator at the McCracken County Public Library, and Kennedy Williams of The Paducah Sun.
PHOTO: Dr. David Coffey (standing) speaks at “An Evening Upstairs,” a program hosted by the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah, Kentucky. Coffey spoke about the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 and the formation of Reelfoot Lake.
