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140-613: From 800 B.C., groups of Native Americans called the Ohlone lived at this spot by the Bay. The Bay Area region was divided into several dialect-speaking groups, the most advanced society among them called the Chochenyans who resided in the Alameda county region. Emeryville was believed to have been their capital. Originally reported as over 60 feet (18 m) high and some 350 feet (110 m) in diameter,

280-547: A Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since 1866. As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as coal and uranium in the West. The State of Maine is the only State House Legislature that allows Representatives from Indian Tribes. The three nonvoting members represent

420-690: A backdoor to the Chinese Exclusion Act , and bring in their relatives from China . The earthquake was also responsible for the development of the Pacific Heights neighborhood. The immense power of the earthquake had destroyed almost all of the mansions on Nob Hill except for the James C. Flood Mansion . Others that had not been destroyed were dynamited by the Army forces aiding the firefighting efforts in attempts to create firebreaks. As one indirect result,

560-465: A body of law, Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational, and social disadvantages for Native Americans, and other people of color living in the south. Native American identity was especially targeted by a system that only wanted to recognize white or colored, and the government began to question the legitimacy of some tribes because they had intermarried with African Americans. Native Americans were also discriminated and discouraged from voting in

700-489: A fantastic view of the bay for party-goers. At the time, Shellmound Park was quite an attraction, and was a popular destination for many people from all over the San Francisco Bay Area. With the passage of prohibition in the 1920s, the number of visitors fell off dramatically and the park fell into decline and was sold. The site of the shellmound contained a large industrial plant site from 1924 through 1999, which

840-490: A federal Indian trust relationship are based. Cultural activism since the late 1960s has increased the participation of Indigenous peoples in American politics. It has also led to expanded efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations, and to establish a more robust cultural infrastructure: Native Americans have founded independent newspapers and online media outlets, including First Nations Experience ,

980-526: A fireman who told me that people in that neighborhood were firing their houses...they were told that they would not get their insurance on buildings damaged by the earthquake unless they were damaged by fire". One landmark building lost in the fire was the Palace Hotel , subsequently rebuilt, which had many famous visitors including royalty and celebrated performers. It was constructed in 1875 primarily financed by Bank of California co-founder William Ralston ,

1120-467: A large degree of tribal sovereignty . For this reason, many Native American reservations are still independent of state law and the actions of tribal citizens on these reservations are subject only to tribal courts and federal law. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted US citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US who had not yet obtained it. This emptied the "Indians not taxed" category established by

1260-633: A major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI ( Extreme ). High-intensity shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley , an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area . Devastating fires soon broke out in San Francisco and lasted for several days. More than 3,000 people died, and over 80% of

1400-540: A makeshift tent city in Golden Gate Park and were treated by the faculty of the Affiliated Colleges. This brought the school, which until then was located on the western outskirts of the city, in contact with significant population and fueled the commitment of the school towards civic responsibility and health care, increasing the momentum towards the construction of its own health facilities. In April 1907, one of

1540-724: A more collective basis than the culture which Europeans were familiar with. Most Indigenous American tribes treated their hunting grounds and agricultural lands as land that could be used by their entire tribe. Europeans had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures, as well as the shifting alliances among different nations during periods of warfare, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption. Native Americans suffered high fatality rates from contact with European diseases that were new to them, and to which they had not acquired immunity . Smallpox epidemics are thought to have caused

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1680-468: A resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the U.S. government terminate tribal governments. In 2007, a group of Democratic Party congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to terminate Federal recognition of the Cherokee Nation . This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had

1820-564: A result of the erosion caused by hydraulic mining in the later years of the California Gold Rush . For years, the epicenter of the quake was assumed to be near the town of Olema , in the Point Reyes area of Marin County , due to local earth displacement measurements. In the 1960s, a seismologist at UC Berkeley proposed that the epicenter was more likely offshore of San Francisco, to

1960-509: A time when the science of seismology was blossoming. Although the impact of the earthquake on San Francisco was the most famous, the earthquake also inflicted considerable damage on several other cities. These include San Jose and Santa Rosa , the entire downtown of which was essentially destroyed. As damaging as the earthquake and its aftershocks were, the fires that burned out of control afterward were far more destructive. It has been estimated that at least 80%, and at most over 95%, of

2100-400: A variety of diseases, but in many cases this happened long after Europeans first arrived. When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lack immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native Communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens." After the thirteen British colonies revolted against Great Britain and established

2240-595: A woman who lit her stove to prepare breakfast, unaware of the badly damaged chimney, destroying a 30-block area, including a college, the Hall of Records and City Hall. Some of the fires were started when San Francisco Fire Department firefighters, untrained in the use of dynamite , attempted to demolish buildings to create firebreaks . The dynamited buildings often caught fire. The city's fire chief, Dennis T. Sullivan , who would have been responsible for coordinating firefighting efforts, had died from injuries sustained in

2380-550: Is characterized by mainly lateral motion in a dextral sense, where the western (Pacific) plate moves northward relative to the eastern (North American) plate. This fault runs the length of California from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino in the north, a distance of about 810 miles (1,300 km). The maximum observed surface displacement was about 20 feet (6 m); geodetic measurements show displacements of up to 28 feet (8.5 m). The 1906 earthquake preceded

2520-537: Is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by any entity other than their own tribes. Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying

2660-450: Is credited with saving nearly 1,500 specimens, including the entire type specimen collection for a newly discovered and extremely rare species, before the remainder of the largest botanical collection in the western United States was destroyed in the fire. The entire laboratory and all the records of Benjamin R. Jacobs , a biochemist who was researching the nutrition of everyday foods, were destroyed. The original California flag used in

2800-427: Is equivalent to $ 10.2 billion in 2023 dollars. An insurance industry source tallies insured losses at $ 235 million, the equivalent to $ 5.97 billion in 2023 dollars. Political and business leaders strongly downplayed the effects of the earthquake, fearing loss of outside investment in the city which was badly needed to rebuild. In his first public statement, California Governor George Pardee emphasized

2940-595: Is known as the " Kelp Highway ". The early inhabitants by land were classified as Paleo-Indians , who spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into numerous culturally distinct nations. Major Paleo-Indian cultures included the Clovis and Folsom traditions , identified through unique spear points and large-game hunting methods, especially during the Lithic stage . Around 8000 BCE, as the climate stabilized, new cultural periods like

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3080-461: Is still uncertain, but various reports presented a range of 700–3,000+. In 2005, the city's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in support of a resolution written by novelist James Dalessandro ("1906") and city historian Gladys Hansen ("Denial of Disaster") to recognize the figure of 3,000+ as the official total. Most of the deaths occurred within San Francisco, but 189 were reported elsewhere in

3220-562: Is talking of it this afternoon, and no one is in the least degree dismayed. I have talked and listened in two clubs, watched people in cars and in the street, and one man is glad that Chinatown will be cleared out for good; another's chief solicitude is for Millet 's Man with a Hoe . 'They'll cut it out of the frame,' he says, a little anxiously. 'Sure.' But there is no doubt anywhere that San Francisco can be rebuilt, larger, better, and soon. Just as there would be none at all if all this New York that has so obsessed me with its limitless bigness

3360-729: Is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The Cherokee have a different history; it is the largest tribe, with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals. As of 2012, 70% of Native Americans live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Los Angeles. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as

3500-494: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Some of the wastes also included waste paints, numerous heavy metals and certain petroleum hydrocarbons . By the 1980s redevelopment planning for the Emeryville Shellmound vicinity was underway, consisting of planning by private interests and the city of Emeryville. In 1989 Earth Metrics prepared a remedial action plan to assess and remediate soil and groundwater contamination in

3640-543: The American Indian Movement (AIM) drawing attention to Indigenous rights. Landmark legislation like the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 recognized tribal autonomy, leading to the establishment of Native-run schools and economic initiatives. Tribal sovereignty has continued to evolve, with legal victories and federal acknowledgments supporting cultural revitalization. By

3780-533: The Archaic stage arose, during which hunter-gatherer communities developed complex societies across North America. The Mound Builders created large earthworks, such as at Watson Brake and Poverty Point , which date to 3500 BCE and 2200 BCE, respectively, indicating early social and organizational complexity. By 1000 BCE, Native societies in the Woodland period developed advanced social structures and trade networks, with

3920-519: The Bank of Canada in Ottawa gave $ 25,000. The U.S. government quickly voted for one million dollars in relief supplies which were immediately rushed to the area, including supplies for food kitchens and many thousands of tents that city dwellers would occupy the next several years. These relief efforts were not enough to get families on their feet again, and consequently the burden was placed on wealthier members of

4060-595: The California Senate enacted the California Standard Form of Fire Insurance Policy, which did not contain any earthquake clause. Thus the state decided that insurers would have to pay again if another earthquake was followed by fires. Other earthquake-endangered countries followed the California example. The 1906 Centennial Alliance was set up as a clearing-house for various centennial events commemorating

4200-511: The Census Bureau until 1930: American Indians and Alaska Natives as percentage of the total population between 1880 and 2020: Absolute numbers of American Indians and Alaska Natives between 1880 and 2020 (since 1890 according to the Census Bureau ): 78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The Navajo , with 286,000 full-blood individuals,

4340-636: The Dawes Act , which undermined communal landholding. A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the United States Declaration of Independence ). Sam Wolfson in The Guardian writes, "The declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of

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4480-761: The Hopewell tradition connecting the Eastern Woodlands to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico . This period led to the Mississippian culture , with large urban centers like Cahokia —a city with complex mounds and a population exceeding 20,000 by 1250 CE. From the 15th century onward, European contact drastically reshaped the Americas. Explorers and settlers introduced diseases, causing massive Indigenous population declines, and engaged in violent conflicts with Native groups. By

4620-559: The Imperial Valley area, which culminated in an earthquake of about 6.1 M I   at 16:30 PST on April 18, 1906. Another event of this type occurred at 12:31 PST on April 19, 1906, with an estimated magnitude of about 5.0 M I  , and an epicenter beneath Santa Monica Bay . Early death counts ranged from 375 to over 500. However, hundreds of fatalities in Chinatown went ignored and unrecorded. The total number of deaths

4760-667: The Indigenous peoples of the United States , particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska . They may also include any Americans whose origins lie in any of the indigenous peoples of North or South America. The United States Census Bureau publishes data about "American Indians and Alaska Natives ", whom it defines as anyone "having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America ... and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment". The census does not, however, enumerate "Native Americans" as such, noting that

4900-807: The Indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations , Inuit and Métis ( FNIM ). The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the U.S., tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of the Americas by the Paleo-Indians . The Eurasian migration to the Americas occurred over millennia via Beringia , a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska , as early humans spread southward and eastward, forming distinct cultures and societies. Archaeological evidence suggests these migrations began 60,000 years ago and continued until around 12,000 years ago. Some may have arrived even before this time fishing in kayaks along what

5040-613: The Mississippi River , in order to accommodate continued European American expansion. This resulted in what amounted to the ethnic cleansing or genocide of many tribes, who were subjected to brutal forced marches . The most infamous of these came to be known as the Trail of Tears . Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands that have sovereignty and treaty rights upon which federal Indian law and

5180-602: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia. As of 2000 , the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo , Cherokee , Choctaw , Sioux , Chippewa , Apache , Blackfeet , Iroquois , and Pueblo . In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten. The civil rights movement

5320-490: The U.S. Mint , post office, and county jail. They aided the fire department in dynamiting to demolish buildings in the path of the fires. The Army also became responsible for feeding, sheltering, and clothing the tens of thousands of displaced residents of the city. Under the command of Funston's superior, Major General Adolphus Greely , Commanding Officer of the Pacific Division, over 4,000 federal troops saw service during

5460-696: The United States Constitution , allowed Natives to vote in elections, and extended the Fourteenth Amendment protections granted to people "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. However, some states continued to deny Native Americans voting rights for decades. Titles II through VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applies to Native American tribes and makes many but not all of

5600-565: The first written accounts of the contact were provided by Europeans . Ethnographers classify the Indigenous peoples of North America into ten geographical regions which are inhabited by groups of people who share certain cultural traits, called cultural areas. The ten cultural areas are: At the time of the first contact, the Indigenous cultures were different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some Northeastern and Southwestern cultures, in particular, were matrilineal and they were organized and operated on

5740-622: The "man who built San Francisco". In April 1906, the tenor Enrico Caruso and members of the Metropolitan Opera Company came to San Francisco to give a series of performances at the Grand Opera House . The night after Caruso's performance in Carmen , the tenor was awakened in the early morning in his Palace Hotel suite by a strong jolt. Clutching an autographed photo of President Theodore Roosevelt , Caruso made an effort to get out of

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5880-522: The 1846 Bear Flag Revolt at Sonoma , which at the time was being stored in a state building in San Francisco, was also destroyed in the fire. The city's fire chief, Dennis T. Sullivan, was gravely injured when the earthquake first struck and later died from his injuries. The interim fire chief sent an urgent request to the Presidio, a United States Army post on the edge of the stricken city, for dynamite. General Frederick Funston had already decided that

6020-522: The 19th century, westward U.S. expansion, rationalized by Manifest destiny , pressured tribes into forced relocations like the Trail of Tears , which decimated communities and redefined Native territories. Despite resistance in events like the Sioux Uprising and Battle of Little Bighorn , Native American lands continued to be reduced through policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and later

6160-513: The 21st century, Native Americans had achieved increased control over tribal lands and resources, although many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of displacement and economic challenges. Urban migration has also grown, with over 70% of Native Americans residing in cities by 2012, navigating issues of cultural preservation and discrimination. Continuing legal and social efforts address these concerns, building on centuries of resilience and adaptation that characterize Indigenous history across

6300-450: The 22nd Infantry and other military units involved in the emergency. Ord later wrote a long letter to his mother on April 20 regarding Schmitz's "Shoot-to-Kill" order and some "despicable" behavior of certain soldiers of the 22nd Infantry who were looting. He also made it clear that the majority of soldiers served the community well. Property losses from the disaster have been estimated to be more than $ 400 million in 1906 dollars. This

6440-455: The 48 states and Alaska. Native American population rebounded sharply from 1950, when they numbered 377,273; it reached 551,669 in 1960, 827,268 in 1970, with an annual growth rate of 5%, four times the national average. Total spending on Native Americans averaged $ 38 million a year in the late 1920s, dropping to a low of $ 23 million in 1933, and returning to $ 38 million in 1940. The Office of Indian Affairs counted more American Indians than

6580-643: The Americas , including Mesoamerican peoples such as the Maya , as well as Canadian and South American natives . In 2022, 634,503 Indigenous people in the United States identified with Central American Indigenous groups, 875,183 identified with the Indigenous people of Mexico , and 47,518 identified with Canadian First Nations . Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to

6720-399: The Americas. According to the 2020 census, the U.S. population was 331.4 million. Of this, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry alone. In addition, 5.9 million people (1.8 percent), reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census

6860-677: The Bay Area; nearby cities such as Santa Rosa and San Jose also suffered severe damage. Between 227,000 and 300,000 people were left homeless out of a population of about 410,000; half of those who evacuated fled across the bay to Oakland and Berkeley . Newspapers described Golden Gate Park , the Presidio, the Panhandle and the beaches between Ingleside and North Beach as covered with makeshift tents. More than two years later, many of these refugee camps were still in operation. The earthquake and fire left long-standing and significant pressures on

7000-489: The Chinese population and export Chinatown (and other poor populations) to the edge of the county where the Chinese could still contribute to the local taxbase. The Chinese occupants had other ideas and prevailed instead. Chinatown was rebuilt in the newer, modern, Western form that exists today. The destruction of City Hall and the Hall of Records enabled thousands of Chinese immigrants to claim residency and citizenship, creating

7140-573: The Federal Government of the United States had not conducted the serious studies that were needed to gather data about earthquakes on the west coast. He said public discussion was being stifled by fears that acknowledgement of earthquakes would drive away business and investors, and that geologists were told not to gather information about the 1906 earthquake, and certainly to not publish it. Some people went as far as to deny that an earthquake had happened. Branner argued that preparation for earthquakes

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7280-538: The Ghost Dance properly, the European American colonists would vanish, the bison would return, and the living and the dead would be reunited in an Eden ic world. On December 29 at Wounded Knee, gunfire erupted, and U.S. soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children. Days after the massacre, the author L. Frank Baum wrote: The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon

7420-617: The Highlanders (soon to be the Yankees) and the Philadelphia Athletics to raise money for quake survivors. William James , the pioneering American psychologist, was teaching at Stanford at the time of the earthquake and traveled into San Francisco to observe first-hand its aftermath. He was most impressed by the positive attitude of the survivors and the speed with which they improvised services and created order out of chaos. This formed

7560-561: The Indians were destined to vanish under the pressure of white civilization, stating in an 1886 lecture: I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. One of the last and most notable events during the Indian wars was the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In

7700-734: The Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address. Below are numbers for U.S. citizens self-identifying to selected tribal groupings, according to the 2010 U.S. census. There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments and 326 Indian reservations in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone, and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include

7840-484: The Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Passamaquoddy Tribe . These representatives can sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs or co-sponsor any pending State of Maine legislation. Maine is unique regarding Indigenous leadership representation. In the state of Virginia , Native Americans face a unique problem. Until 2017 Virginia previously had no federally recognized tribes but

7980-502: The Secretary of State, rather than the Bureau of Indian Affairs . The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km ) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives ". Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it

8120-478: The U.S. federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S. law. Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S. government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through

8260-405: The US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage. Of groups Indigenous to the United States, the largest self-reported tribes are Cherokee (1,449,888), Navajo (434,910), Choctaw (295,373), Blackfeet (288,255), Sioux (220,739), and Apache (191,823). 205,954 respondents specified an Alaska Native identity. Native Hawaiians are counted separately from Native Americans by

8400-589: The United States was established, Native American tribes were considered semi-independent nations, because they generally lived in communities which were separate from communities of white settlers . The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of independent Native nations, and started treating them as "domestic dependent nations" subject to applicable federal laws. This law did preserve rights and privileges, including

8540-453: The United States, President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox conceived the idea of " civilizing " Native Americans in preparation for their assimilation as U.S. citizens. Assimilation, whether it was voluntary, as it was with the Choctaw , or forced , was consistently maintained as a matter of policy by consecutive American administrations. During the 19th century,

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8680-488: The arts colony reputation that continues today. The 1908 Lawson Report, a study of the 1906 quake led and edited by Professor Andrew Lawson of the University of California, showed that the same San Andreas Fault which had caused the disaster in San Francisco ran close to Los Angeles as well. The earthquake was the first natural disaster of its magnitude to be documented by photography and motion picture footage and occurred at

8820-529: The basis of the chapter "On some Mental Effects of the Earthquake" in his book Memories and Studies . H. G. Wells had just arrived in New York on his first visit to America when he learned of the San Francisco earthquake. What struck him about the reaction of those around him was that "it does not seem to have affected any one with a sense of final destruction, with any foreboding of irreparable disaster. Every one

8960-463: The buildings was renovated for outpatient care with 75 beds. This created the need to train nursing students, and the UC Training School for Nurses was established, adding a fourth professional school to the Affiliated Colleges. The grandeur of citywide reconstruction schemes required investment from Eastern monetary sources, hence the spin and de-emphasis of the earthquake, the promulgation of

9100-407: The census, being classified as Pacific Islanders . According to 2022 estimates, 714,847 Americans reported Native Hawaiian ancestry. The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by the opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race

9240-597: The city and its "rise from the ashes". Since 1915, the city has officially commemorated the disaster each year by gathering the remaining survivors at Lotta's Fountain , a fountain in the city's financial district that served as a meeting point during the disaster for people to look for loved ones and exchange information. The Army built 5,610 redwood and fir "relief houses" to accommodate 20,000 displaced people. The houses were designed by John McLaren , and were grouped in eleven camps, packed close to each other and rented to people for two dollars per month until rebuilding

9380-550: The city was destroyed. The event is remembered as the deadliest earthquake in the history of the United States . The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high on the lists of American disasters. The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that forms part of the tectonic boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate . The strike-slip fault

9520-485: The city, first by boat and then by train, and vowed never to return to San Francisco. Caruso died in 1921, having remained true to his word. The Metropolitan Opera Company lost all of its traveling sets and costumes in the earthquake and ensuing fires. Some of the greatest losses from fire were in scientific laboratories. Alice Eastwood , the curator of botany at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco,

9660-566: The city, who were reluctant to assist in the rebuilding of homes they were not responsible for. All residents were eligible for daily meals served from a number of communal soup kitchens, and citizens as far away as Idaho and Utah were known to send daily loaves of bread to San Francisco as relief supplies were coordinated by the railroads. Insurance companies, faced with staggering claims of $ 250 million, paid out between $ 235 million and $ 265 million on policyholders' claims, often for fire damage only, since shake damage from earthquakes

9800-447: The colonization process as comprising genocide against Native Americans. As part of a policy of white settler colonialism , European settlers continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands , and subjected them to one-sided government treaties and discriminatory government policies. Into the 20th century, these policies focused on forced assimilation . When

9940-516: The dehumanizing attitude toward Indigenous Americans that the US was founded on." Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the U.S. throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally Indian Wars . Notable conflicts in this period include the Dakota War , Great Sioux War , Snake War , Colorado War , and Texas-Indian Wars . Expressing the frontier anti-Indian sentiment, Theodore Roosevelt believed

10080-606: The development of California. At the time of the disaster, San Francisco had been the ninth-largest city in the United States and the largest on the West Coast . Over a period of 60 years, the city had become the financial, trade, and cultural center of the West , operating the busiest port on the West Coast. It was the "gateway to the Pacific", through which growing U.S. economic and military power

10220-567: The development of the Richter scale by three decades. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the quake on the modern moment magnitude scale is 7.9; values from 7.7 to as high as 8.3 have been proposed. According to findings published in the Journal of Geophysical Research , severe deformations in the Earth's crust took place both before and after the earthquake's impact. Accumulated strain on

10360-674: The earthquake strongly suggests that the rupture along the San Andreas Fault was about 310 miles (500 km) in length, in agreement with observed intensity data. The available seismological data support a significantly shorter rupture length, but these observations can be reconciled by allowing propagation at speeds above the S-wave velocity ( supershear ). Supershear propagation has now been recognized for many earthquakes associated with strike-slip faulting. In 2019, using an old photograph and an eyewitness account, researchers were able to refine

10500-765: The earthquake when it became too much trouble for them. Del Monte and another survivor, Rose Cliver (1902–2012), then 106, attended the earthquake reunion celebration on April 18, 2009, the 103rd anniversary of the earthquake. Nancy Stoner Sage (1905–2010) died, aged 105, in Colorado just three days short of the 104th anniversary of the earthquake on April 18, 2010. Del Monte attended the event at Lotta's Fountain in 2010. 107-year-old George Quilici (1905–2012) died in May 2012, and 113-year-old Ruth Newman (1901–2015) in July 2015. William Del Monte (1906–2016), who died 11 days shy of his 110th birthday,

10640-523: The earthquake. Award presentations, religious services, a National Geographic TV movie, a projection of fire onto the Coit Tower, memorials, and lectures were part of the commemorations. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program issued a series of Internet documents, and the tourism industry promoted the 100th anniversary as well. Eleven survivors of the 1906 earthquake attended the centennial commemorations in 2006, including Irma Mae Weule (1899–2008), who

10780-428: The emergency. Police officers, firefighters, and soldiers would regularly commandeer passing civilians for work details to remove rubble and assist in rescues. On July 1, 1906, non-military authorities assumed responsibility for relief efforts, and the Army withdrew from the city. On April 18, in response to riots among evacuees and looting, Mayor Schmitz issued and ordered posted a proclamation that "The Federal Troops,

10920-455: The faults in the system was relieved during the earthquake, which is the supposed cause of the damage along the 280-mile-long (450 km) segment of the San Andreas plate boundary. The 1906 rupture propagated both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles (476 km). Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and as far inland as central Nevada . A strong foreshock preceded

11060-441: The fire had the effect of increasing the share of land used for nonresidential purposes: "Overall, relative to unburned blocks, residential land shares on burned blocks fell while nonresidential land shares rose by 1931. The study also provides insight into what held the city back from making these changes before 1906: the presence of old residential buildings. In reconstruction, developers built relatively fewer of these buildings, and

11200-970: The first Native American television channel; established Native American studies programs, tribal schools universities , museums, and language programs. Literature is at the growing forefront of American Indian studies in many genres, with the notable exception of fiction—some traditional American Indians experience fictional narratives as insulting when they conflict with traditional oral tribal narratives. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial . The ways Native Americans refer to themselves vary by region and generation, with many older Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous" or "Aboriginal". The term "Native American" has not traditionally included Native Hawaiians or certain Alaskan Natives , such as Aleut , Yup'ik , or Inuit peoples. By comparison,

11340-473: The first few days after news of the disaster reached the rest of the world, relief efforts reached over $ 5,000,000, equivalent to $ 169,560,000 in 2023. London raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Individual citizens and businesses donated large sums of money for the relief effort: Standard Oil and Andrew Carnegie each gave $ 100,000; the Dominion of Canada made a special appropriation of $ 100,000; and even

11480-441: The first few days of near M 5 or greater occurred near Santa Cruz at 14:28 PST on April 18, with a magnitude of about 4.9 M I . The largest aftershock happened at 01:10 PST on April 23, west of Eureka with an estimated magnitude of about 6.7 M I  , with another of the same size more than three years later at 22:45 PST on October 28 near Cape Mendocino. Remotely triggered events included an earthquake swarm in

11620-525: The greatest loss of life for Indigenous populations. "The decline of native American populations was rapid and severe, probably the greatest demographic disaster ever. Old World diseases were the primary killer. In many regions, particularly the tropical lowlands, populations fell by 90 percent or more in the first century after the contact." Estimates of pre-Columbian population of the United States vary from 4 to 18 million. Jeffrey Ostler writes: "Most Indigenous communities were eventually afflicted by

11760-402: The guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights applicable within the tribes. Since the 1960s, Native American self-determination movements have resulted in positive changes to the lives of many Native Americans, though there are still many contemporary issues faced by them . Today, there are over five million Native Americans in the US, about 80% of whom live outside reservations. The states with

11900-556: The highest percentage of Native Americans are Alaska , Oklahoma , New Mexico , South Dakota , Montana , and North Dakota . Beginning toward the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas led to centuries of population, cultural, and agricultural transfer and adjustment between Old and New World societies, a process known as the Columbian exchange . Because most Native American groups had preserved their histories by means of oral traditions and artwork,

12040-504: The history and importance of Emeryville Shellmound. For Shellmound , a 22-minute documentary, filmmaker Andres Cediel interviewed representatives of the city and developers of the shopping mall, archeologists, Ohlone descendants and others. Native Americans in the United States This is an accepted version of this page Native Americans (also called American Indians , First Americans , or Indigenous Americans ) are

12180-532: The ideology known as manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Westward expansion of European American populations after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native Americans and their lands, warfare, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act , authorizing the federal government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of

12320-507: The initial quake. In total, the fires burned for four days and nights. Most of the destruction in the city was attributed to the fires, since widespread practice by insurers was to indemnify San Francisco properties from fire but not from earthquake damage. Some property owners deliberately set fire to damaged properties to claim them on their insurance. Captain Leonard D. Wildman of the U.S. Army Signal Corps reported that he "was stopped by

12460-568: The international financial system. Gold transfers from European insurance companies to policyholders in San Francisco led to a rise in interest rates, subsequently to a lack of available loans and finally to the Knickerbocker Trust Company crisis of October 1907 which led to the Panic of 1907 . After the 1906 earthquake, global discussion arose concerning a legally flawless exclusion of the earthquake hazard from fire insurance contracts. It

12600-502: The largest urban park in the world, stretching from Twin Peaks to Lake Merced with a large atheneum at its peak. But this plan was dismissed during the aftermath of the earthquake. For example, real estate investors and other land owners were against the idea because of the large amount of land the city would have to purchase to realize such proposals. While the original street grid was restored, many of Burnham's proposals inadvertently saw

12740-514: The latter term can encompass a broader set of groups, e.g. Native Hawaiians , which it tabulates separately. The European colonization of the Americas from 1492 resulted in a precipitous decline in the size of the Native American population because of newly introduced diseases , including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by colonizers, wars , ethnic cleansing , and enslavement . Numerous scholars have classified elements of

12880-461: The leveling of the Emeryville Shellmound in 1924 certainly suggest this destruction. However, the small size of construction equipment in the 1920s and the different construction techniques used at that time meant that there was far less destruction of the native ground surface than modern construction methods typically inflict. In fact, the disturbance of underlying soils was far less extensive and complete than might have been expected. In 1999, during

13020-410: The light of day, such as a neoclassical civic center complex, wider streets, a preference of arterial thoroughfares, a subway under Market Street , a more people-friendly Fisherman's Wharf , and a monument to the city on Telegraph Hill , Coit Tower . Limestone used to reconstruct city buildings was quarried at the nearby Rockaway Quarry . City fathers likewise attempted at the time to eliminate

13160-477: The location of the hypocenter of the earthquake as offshore from San Francisco or near San Juan Bautista , confirming previous estimates. The most important characteristic of the shaking intensity noted in Andrew Lawson 's 1908 report was the clear correlation of intensity with underlying geologic conditions. Areas situated in sediment -filled valleys sustained stronger shaking than nearby bedrock sites, and

13300-483: The main shock by about 20 to 25 seconds. The strong shaking of the main shock lasted about 42 seconds. There were decades of minor earthquakes – more than at any other time in the historical record for northern California – before the 1906 quake. Previously interpreted as precursory activity to the 1906 earthquake, they have been found to have a strong seasonal pattern and are now believed to be caused by large seasonal sediment loads in coastal bays that overlie faults as

13440-434: The majority of the reduction came through single-family houses. Also, aside from merely expanding nonresidential uses in many neighborhoods, the fire created economic opportunities in new areas, resulting in clusters of business activity that emerged only in the wake of the disaster. These effects of the fire still remain today, and thus large shocks can be sufficient catalysts for permanently reshaping urban settings." During

13580-628: The members of the Regular Police Force and all Special Police Officers have been authorized by me to kill any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime". Accusations of soldiers engaging in looting also surfaced. Retired Captain Edward Ord of the 22nd Infantry Regiment was appointed a special police officer by Schmitz and liaised with Greely for relief work with

13720-506: The need to rebuild quickly: "This is not the first time that San Francisco has been destroyed by fire, I have not the slightest doubt that the City by the Golden Gate will be speedily rebuilt, and will, almost before we know it, resume her former great activity". The earthquake is not even mentioned in the statement. Fatality and monetary damage estimates were manipulated. Almost immediately after

13860-561: The northwest of the Golden Gate . The most recent analyses support an offshore location for the epicenter, although significant uncertainty remains. An offshore epicenter is supported by the occurrence of a local tsunami recorded by a tide gauge at the San Francisco Presidio ; the wave had an amplitude of approximately 3 inches (7.6 cm) and an approximate period of 40–45 minutes. Analysis of triangulation data before and after

14000-413: The prehistoric residents. The shells they threw aside from their catches of shellfish eventually covered some hundreds of thousands of square feet, marked by several cones. Evidence indicates that the site was a large village, occupied from at least 2800 years ago to 400 years ago. It was also used by Native Americans as a resting-place for their dead. The site was recognized as an archaeological deposit from

14140-557: The preservation of the shellmound remnants and its designation as a sacred site. Despite this, Emeryville City Council voted to replace the 19 acres (7.7 ha) site with Bay Street Shopping Mall. Bitter feelings remain that the mall should not have been built, that the mitigating memorial to the mound was insignificant, and that the mall was and is an insult to the Ohlone people. On Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) each year, native people gather there to protest and inform shoppers about

14280-464: The problem was quickly resolved. King would later make trips to Arizona visiting Native Americans on reservations, and in churches encouraging them to be involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In King's book Why We Can't Wait he writes: 1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by

14420-410: The problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of Walter Ashby Plecker (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the one-drop rule , enacted in law in 1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored". Plecker, a segregationist , believed that

14560-437: The quake (and even during the disaster), planning and reconstruction plans were hatched to quickly rebuild the city. Rebuilding funds were immediately tied up by the fact that virtually all the major banks had been sites of the conflagration, requiring a lengthy wait of seven to ten days before their fire-proof vaults could cool sufficiently to be safely opened. The Bank of Italy (now Bank of America ) had evacuated its funds and

14700-512: The removal of the industrial plant, archaeologists were called to the site and it was determined portions of the Emeryville Shellmound still were intact there. The site is currently occupied by the Bay Street Shopping Center along with a small park in memorial to the shellmound. Beginning in the mid-to-late 19th century, fill material was deposited over and in the vicinity of the Emeryville Shellmound. The purpose of this deposition

14840-498: The right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive genealogical proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture. In July 2000, the Washington State Republican Party adopted

14980-471: The same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency). In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states , but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state. Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that

15120-446: The same requirements as they did. The Muwekma Ohlone of the San Francisco Bay Area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition. Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several tribes in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including

15260-453: The shellmound constituted a small hill, and was physically linked to several adjacent mounds by extensive lower-lying midden deposits. Its peak likely provided sweeping views of the Bay and the Golden Gate . Archaeologists believe that Native Americans constructed the Shellmound which was largely made up of shellfish and animal remains, the remnants of millions of meals consumed at the site by

15400-421: The site from the 1870s through 1924. The park contained a racetrack, two dance halls, bars, a carousel , bowling alley , and a world class shooting range where national competitions were regularly held. In the early 1900s, the racetrack was also the site of public demonstrations of lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air flying machines. One of the dance pavilions was actually located atop the shellmound, providing

15540-571: The situation required the use of federal troops. Telephoning a San Francisco Police Department officer, he sent word to Mayor Eugene Schmitz of his decision to assist and then ordered federal troops from nearby Angel Island to mobilize and enter the city. Explosives were ferried across the bay from the California Powder Works in what is now Hercules . During the first few days, soldiers provided valuable services like patrolling streets to discourage looting and guarding buildings such as

15680-649: The south in the late 1950s after they reached out to him. At that time the remaining Creek in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools in their area. In this case, light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride school buses to previously all white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from riding the same buses. Tribal leaders, upon hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, contacted him for assistance. He promptly responded and, through his intervention,

15820-598: The southern and western states. In the south segregation was a major problem for Native Americans seeking education, but the NAACP's legal strategy would later change this. Movements such as Brown v. Board of Education was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement headed by the NAACP , and inspired Native Americans to start participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. began assisting Native Americans in

15960-535: The state as "colored" and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records. In 2009,

16100-493: The state had recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement. Some historians also note

16240-529: The state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with African Americans; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to " pass " as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in

16380-480: The strongest shaking occurred in areas of former bay where soil liquefaction had occurred. Modern seismic-zonation practice accounts for the differences in seismic hazard posed by varying geologic conditions. The shaking intensity as described on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale reached XI ( Extreme ) in San Francisco and areas to the north like Santa Rosa where destruction was devastating. The main shock

16520-554: The time of the first historically recorded settlement of the East Bay, and was subjected to one of the earliest archaeological excavations in the United States. When the University of California excavated this site in 1902, and again in the 1920s, they found that the mound consisted mostly of clam , mussel , and oyster (predominantly Olympia Oyster ) shells, with a plentiful mixture of cockleshells . A large amusement park operated on

16660-463: The total destruction was the result of the subsequent fires. Within three days, over 30 fires, caused by ruptured gas mains, destroyed approximately 25,000 buildings on 490 city blocks. The fires cost an estimated $ 350 million at the time (equivalent to $ 8.9 billion in 2023). The Ham and Eggs fire, in the morning on the 18th, at Hayes and Gough Streets, in Hayes Valley , was started by

16800-474: The total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth. In the 20th century, Native Americans served in significant numbers during World War II, marking a turning point for Indigenous visibility and involvement in broader American society. Post-war, Native activism grew, with movements such as

16940-428: The tough new building codes, and subsequent reputation sensitive actions such as the official low death toll. One of the more famous and ambitious plans came from famed urban planner Daniel Burnham . His bold plan called for, among other proposals, Haussmann -style avenues, boulevards, arterial thoroughfares that radiated across the city, a massive civic center complex with classical structures, and what would have been

17080-409: The vicinity of the Emeryville Shellmound. These studies found elevated concentrations of lead , zinc and certain other heavy metals as well as petroleum hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene . Most of the contamination was found in the upper fill layers and did not penetrate into the shellmound itself. Substantial amounts of contaminant removal, including many people buried there centuries ago,

17220-418: The wealthy looked westward where the land was cheap and relatively undeveloped, and where there were better views. Constructing new mansions without reclaiming and clearing rubble simply sped attaining new homes in the tent city during the reconstruction. Reconstruction was swift, and largely completed by 1915, in time for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition which celebrated the reconstruction of

17360-694: The years leading up to it the U.S. government had continued to seize Lakota lands. A Ghost Dance ritual on the Northern Lakota reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota , led to the U.S. Army's attempt to subdue the Lakota. The dance was part of a religious movement founded by the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka that told of the return of the Messiah to relieve the suffering of Native Americans and promised that if they would live righteous lives and perform

17500-646: Was a very significant moment for the rights of Native Americans and other people of color. Native Americans faced racism and prejudice for hundreds of years, and this increased after the American Civil War . Native Americans, like African Americans, were subjected to the Jim Crow Laws and segregation in the Deep South especially after they were made citizens through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. As

17640-401: Was able to provide liquidity in the immediate aftermath. Its president also immediately chartered and financed the sending of two ships to return with shiploads of lumber from Washington and Oregon mills which provided the initial reconstruction materials and surge. In an article written in 1913, John C. Branner, who was the first to begin study of the San Andreas fault in 1891 complained that

17780-511: Was as follows: According to Office of Management and Budget, "American Indian or Alaska Native" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. Despite generally referring to groups indigenous to the continental US and Alaska, this demographic as defined by the US Census Bureau includes all Indigenous people of

17920-489: Was closed on June 30, 1908. Most of the cottages have been destroyed, but at least 30 survived. Of the remaining structures, there is a historically restored pair in the Presidio. Others have been built on as part of private homes, with a high concentration around the Bernal Heights neighborhood. One of the modest 720 sq ft (67 m ) homes was purchased in 2006 for more than $ 600,000. A 2017 study found that

18060-452: Was completed. They were painted navy blue, partly to blend in with the site and partly because the military had large quantities of navy blue paint on hand. The camps had a peak population of 16,448 people, but by 1907 most people had moved out. The camps were then re-used as garages, storage spaces or shops. The cottages cost on average $ 100 to build. The $ 2 monthly rents went towards the full purchase price of $ 50. The last official refugee camp

18200-485: Was conducted prior to area redevelopment. In addition, archeologists found a large number of burials in the piling headings during construction. Many believe that hundreds of burials remain beneath the project that was built. Opposition to the redevelopment of the moundsite was widespread. It included native people, preservationists, anthropologists and others from the region and around the state. Many articles were written in newspapers, magazines and newsletters supporting

18340-407: Was demolished by the City of Emeryville Redevelopment Agency in 1999. During the course of demolition, workers at the site rediscovered remnants of the Emeryville Shellmound, a prehistoric Ohlone Indian habitation site, long thought destroyed by the building of the industrial plant in 1924. Despite protest, construction continued, and the artifacts and remains were covered over once again. Photos of

18480-677: Was excluded from coverage under most policies. At least 137 insurance companies were directly involved and another 17 as reinsurers. Twenty companies went bankrupt. Lloyd's of London reports having paid all claims in full, more than $ 50 million, thanks to the leadership of Cuthbert Heath . Insurance companies in Hartford, Connecticut , report paying every claim in full, with the Hartford Fire Insurance Company paying over $ 11 million and Aetna Insurance Company almost $ 3 million. The insurance payments heavily affected

18620-479: Was followed by many aftershocks and some remotely triggered events . As with the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake , there were fewer aftershocks than would have been expected for a shock of that size. Very few of them were located along the trace of the 1906 rupture, tending to concentrate near the ends of the rupture or on other structures away from the San Andreas Fault, such as the Hayward Fault . The only aftershock in

18760-621: Was introduced in 2000. If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe". Censuses counted around 346,000 Native Americans in 1880 (including 33,000 in Alaska and 82,000 in Oklahoma, back then known as Indian Territory ), around 274,000 in 1890 (including 25,500 in Alaska and 64,500 in Oklahoma), 362,500 in 1930 and 366,500 in 1940, including those on and off reservations in

18900-600: Was itself a blazing ruin. I believe these people would more than half like the situation." The earthquake was crucial in the development of the University of California, San Francisco and its medical facilities. Until 1906, the school faculty had provided care at the City-County Hospital (now the San Francisco General Hospital ), but did not have a hospital of its own. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, more than 40,000 people were relocated to

19040-540: Was possible and necessary: The only way we know of to deal successfully with any natural phenomenon is to get acquainted with it, to find out all we can about it, and thus to meet it on its own grounds. That is the way mankind has succeeded thus far, and it is safe to conclude that it is the only way it will ever succeed. Eleven days after the earthquake a rare Sunday baseball game was played in New York City (which would not allow regular Sunday baseball until 1919) between

19180-461: Was pressed ahead mainly by re-insurers. Their aim: a uniform solution to insurance payouts resulting from fires caused by earthquakes. Until 1910, a few countries, especially in Europe, followed the call for an exclusion of the earthquake hazard from all fire insurance contracts. In the U.S., the question was discussed differently. But the traumatized public reacted with fierce opposition. On August 1, 1909,

19320-437: Was projected into the Pacific and Asia. Over 80% of the city was destroyed by the earthquake and fire. Though San Francisco rebuilt quickly, the disaster diverted trade, industry, and population growth south to Los Angeles, which during the 20th century became the largest and most important urban area in the West. Many of the city's leading poets and writers retreated to Carmel-by-the-Sea where, as "The Barness", they established

19460-663: Was the oldest survivor of the quake at the time of her death in August 2008, aged 109. Vivian Illing (1900–2009) was believed to be the second-oldest survivor at the time of her death, aged 108, leaving Herbert Hamrol (1903–2009) as the last known remaining survivor at the time of his death, aged 106. Another survivor, Libera Armstrong (1902–2007), attended the 2006 anniversary but died in 2007, aged 105. Shortly after Hamrol's death, two additional survivors were discovered. William Del Monte, then 103, and Jeanette Scola Trapani (1902–2009), 106, stated that they stopped attending events commemorating

19600-532: Was to facilitate industrial development of this locale. By the early-to-middle 20th century substantial heavy industry was in place principally in the form of the Judson Steel company manufacturing facility and P.I.E. trucking terminals. These developed uses were atop a layer of fill material measuring three to eight feet in depth above the native soil, shellmound and bay mud ; the fill itself derived from construction wastes from San Francisco including debris from

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