September 9, 1850

Shaking Things Up in California

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A mailbox remnant from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

It’s not just the movie industry that makes a lot of noise in California, a state known for its earthquakes. The biggest earthquake in state history occurred in 1906, registering an 8.25 on the Richter scale. The main post office in San Francisco survived this natural disaster and the subsequent three-day fire, with this cast bronze mailbox front serving as proof. The post office accepted mail without postage until the city began to recover.