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On Sept. 5, 1944 the Standard-Freeholder front page was covered in giant bold lettering, declaring: “$750,000 damage is caused in city by earth tremors,” because from 12:38 a.m. until 7:10 a.m., “Cornwall was a bewildered city […] following the series of history-making tremors […]” wrote the unnamed reporter.
This earthquake and all of the damage that followed would become a news highlight for the city, taking over the front and second pages for a week following Sept. 5.
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Freeholder @ 175: The day in 1944 the earth shook Back to video
Homes and public buildings all over Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry were severely damaged in this earthquake. At the time of publication, tentative estimates on the value of the damage were around the $500,000 to $750,000 mark – $7.6 million to $11.4 million in 2021 value – but the headline of the Standard-Freeholder indicated “the figure may hit the million-dollar mark when the full extent of the damage has been ascertained.”