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1906 Earthquake Centennial Feature from America Hurrah

 A Financial Review of Relief Work in San Francisco

Providing Shelter: Building the Cottages

    The homeless refugees proceeded to build such temporary shelter on vacant lots and in the parks as they could. For this purpose materials taken from lumber yards, houses in the course of construction, advertising fences, etc,. were freely used. Although a large number of tents were shipped into the town these arrived after a delay of a week to ten days or more.
    The camp population on July 2nd, 1906 was reported at 32,500 including irregular camps. On July 31, 1906, 20,867 meal tickets were issued.  The last food kitchen was closed on September 10th.
    In October, 1906, a model camp for the aged and infirm was established at Ingleside Race Track, in which 500 to 700 aged indigents were accommodated until their removal to the new Relief Home, in February 1908.
    Beginning in the latter part of September, 1906, the tent camps were abandoned one by one, and the refugees transferred to the cottage camps. For these tenants paid $4.00 to $6.00 a month.
    The Park Commission demanded all parks cleared by August 17, 1907. The evacuation began as early as May, but was not finally completed until December, 1907.
    Tenants who removed their cottages to land owned, purchased or leased by them were given the cottage and all the money which they had paid on installments.
    The camp cottages and the Relief Home were constructed by the Land and Building Department under the direction of Alexander Mackie as general manager. The magnitude of this undertaking, the construction of 5,938 cottages under conditions obtaining in the fall of 1906 can hardly be overstated.

Building Camp Richmond,
Photo courtesy   Western Neighborhoods Project

At the camps sewing classes were established and materials supplied as well as instruction given.

The Camps

 Donations by States and Foreign Countries

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