Hamilton County public buildings apparently bore the brunt of earthquake damage Saturday, although an engineer told the Times-Leader at least 90 percent of the structures in the county had some damage, chiefly minor.

In McLeansboro, the Courthouse, the First Methodist Church, the McCoy Library, and the township high school all reported damage in the wake of the earth tremor that shook buildings and their occupants for an estimated ten seconds at about 11 a.m. Satur day.

A total of 19 windows were broken in the girls gymnasium at the high school, according to principal James Sobecki. A survey also revealed plaster cracked in most of the rooms at MTHS and inside walls cracked in the girls gym.

At the First United Methodist Church, a section of brick and concrete block fell from a tower at one of the highest points of the building, striking the roof and bounding to the ground and sidewalk on the north side. The brick in a chimney was so badl y disarrayed that the fire department pulled it down to prevent accidents. There was also some damage to the front facade of the church.

As a safety precaution, services were cancelled at the church Sunday and some of the congregation attended services at the Concord Methodist Church also pastored by Rev. Roy Cole, but mid-week prayer services were held Wednesday without incident.

Plaster was badly cracked in practically every room of the second and third floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, but there did not appear to be any major structural damage. "We had a big cleanup job," Sheriff Paul Darnell said. In the courtroom, a large crack appeared in the ceiling immediately above the judge's chair and elsewhere in the same room a ventilator near the floor was neatly outlined on three sides in the wall on the stairway leading from the second to the third floor.

Plastor also fell and a chimney was damaged at the Library.

Chimneys were big causalties of the earthquake. Many either fell or were left out of shape and about to tumble. Three chimneys were reportedly down at the Mrs. F. R. Wilson home on North Pearl Street and some roof damage apparently resulted.

Firemen were called shortly after the earthquake to an East Main Street address where the home owner thought his furnace had exploded. It had not, although many other person apparently shared the same belief at first.

Customers and clerks alike at public square businesses in McLeansboro emptied shortly after the initial shock. Strangely enough, many people in cars felt the shock little enough to notice it. Many, told about the earthquake's severity, found it hard to believe.

Grocery stores unanimously had a clean-up job to do when glass jars were sent toppling to the floor by the earthquake. Almost miraculously, no one in the county was reported injured as a result.

Windows were broken or cracked at both the Hamilton County Lumber Co. and the Wright's Lumber Co. in McLeansboro. In Dale, the Johnson residence reportedly had heavy damage.