 The catastrophic scale of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake spurned an era of innovation and adoption of new building technology, including reinforced concrete developed by inventors like Ernest L. Ransome.Two years prior to the publication of "The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire", Himmelwright set out to personally prove the merits of fireproof construction, adding to his thinking a philosophy of environmental engineering, sustainable building and permaculture.He purchased of land about from New York City in Stockholm, New Jersey, and in 1907 completed the construction of what he called, a "Model Fireproof Farm House".