On October 31, 1895, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake on the New Madrid Seismic Zone  with an epicenter at Charleston, Missouri, cracked a pier on the bridge.
On October 31, 1895, a significant earthquake with an epicenter in Charleston, Missouri, and a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter scale, impacted the New Madrid Seismic Zone, resulting in damage to a bridge pier.