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Saturday before last marked the anniversary of the San Francisco 1906 earthquake. At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, the residents of San Francisco got the worst alarm clock in history. The ground started rolling thanks to a massive rupture along the San Andreas Fault, and in less than a minute, buildings were down, chimneys were flying, and everyone was suddenly very, very awake.
And just when things couldn’t get worse…they did. Fires broke out across the city and burned for three days. Three. Days. By the time things settled down, much of San Francisco looked less like a bustling city and more like a campfire that got wildly out of hand.
While a lot of folks stayed and rebuilt, many others left. Oakland and Sacramento saw an influx of new inhabitants and still others decided to get a second home outside of what they thought of as earthquake zone. One of these such families was “my” Mariani family. They found a ranch in Portola Valley so that in case there was another earthquake they had somewhere to go.
My great grandfather was a caretaker on that ranch and later my father followed in his footsteps. Recently I visited the Ravenswood historic house in Livermore and that ranch had the same story. The family built the house after the earthquake to have a retreat just in case. It was surprising how much that frozen-in time ranch had in common with the one I grew up on in Portola Valley.
I’m not sure what the moral of this story is, other than to find your personal connection to moments in time and then jot it down so that it becomes part of YOUR story. And also… if you are buying a ranch in Portola Valley to escape earthquakes, maybe make sure the same fault line doesn’t cut through your property…
Photo Source:
Genthe, Arnold. (1906). San Francisco, April 18, 1906 [Online image]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018705023/
Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar view: https://www.californiaancestors.org/cgs_calendar/
Tips & Talk: Oakland FamilySearch Center Family History Classes: https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/oakland_california/classes
APR
2026