2005.52.68

One of nine negatives found in the same original envelope. The original envelope reads, "Oakland 1906, Earth-Quake Pictures, (central bank bldg. is written below, and crossed out)". None of the images are specifically identified. 2005.52.68 is an image of sacks of flour being unloaded from a ship onto a wagon, presumabley for the relief effort for San Franciscans, much of which was organized in Oakland.

At 5:15 a.m. on April 18, 1906, Californians from Eureka to Salinas were jolted by an estimated 7.7-7.9-magnitude earthquake along the San Andreas Fault. The force of the quake destroyed the downtown of Santa Rosa, caused chaos in San Jose and Stanford University, and caused alarm and death in Oakland. San Francisco, California's largest city at the time, was subjected to the most destruction. The earthquake and fire displaced approximately 325,000 San Franciscans, 75,000 of them fled the city. The other 250,000 victims of the disaster established makeshift camps in park areas, empty lots, and cemeteries amidst the burnt out ruins and fled to the outer edges of San Francisco seeking food and shelter. Excerpt from Aftershock! Centennial Exhibition write-up, 2005.