Mission Quake Riddle of 1812 May Have Been Solved

An archeologist said on Monday that he may have found an explanation as to why the earthquake of 1812 caused the collapse of the bell tower and other portions of what came to be called the Old Stone Church on the grounds of Mission San Juan Capistrano, killing 40 parishioners at a 7 a.m. Mass.

The quake spared the exquisite Serra Chapel, the soldiers’ barracks and other buildings, some of which were only a few yards away.

Nicholas Magalousis, director of the Mission Museum and archeological research director at Chapman College, said he believes that “a small weak place” in some stone and mortar work may have been responsible.

“We found this weak spot in the old cut stone and mortar pavement (near what was the main entrance to the Old Stone Church), and the pavement could have buckled there during the quake,” he said, “pushing upward under the foundation of the bell tower.”

Magalousis and his aides discovered the weak spot as they set out to locate the true foundations of the old bell tower. By Monday, the spot had been exposed as an approximately two-foot-square area as workers carefully dusted away debris.

Magalousis has led extensive digging among the mission ruins in recent years. He said he hopes that the present project could help determine the location of the bell tower and increase knowledge of both Spanish and Indian construction methods and quality of workmanship in those early days.