" At 5:13 AM on April 18 , 1906 , I was awakened by a roaring noise . The house and earth shook , power poles and trees shuddered and waved in the air as if being blown by a strong wind ... . " Johnson was 21 when the 1906 earthquake struck SF . The wood and brick house he lived in at 929 Jackson Street shook and trembled , later to burn to the ground . His quick-witted mother and brother-in-law directed the clan to the Ferry Building , one grouping making the only ferry trip to Sausalito , another making the trip in a rowboat
1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Walter S. Johnson