august 31st, 1886. an estimated 7.3 magnitude quake devastated this charming southern city. >> two-thirds of all the brick structures in charleston were either destroyed or severely damaged. >> reporter: and it was felt from montreal to nebraska, cuba to bermuda. so this is the church building. and this was severely damaged in the earthquake? >> this was one of the most magnificent churches. the entire bell tower separated with a huge crack through the side of the building. >> reporter: amazingly, the building was put back together with earthquake bolts. >> these are charleston's legendary earthquake bolts. what you see is not actually the earthquake bolt itself. that's the long iron rod that runs all the way through the buildings. >> what we are going to see at the fort? >> we're going to be seeing the effects of the earthquake.