June 14, 1850

On June 14, 1850 around 8:00 AM, fire flashed in the chimney of a wooden bakery at the rear of Merchants Hotel between Sacramento and Clay.  Strong summer winds pushed the fiery serpent in all directions and the new metropolis, between Clay, California, Kearny and the Bay's edge, was shortly a mass of flames.  Very little survived devastation more than equal to all previous losses.  The fire vanquished, San Franciscans resurrected their city before a month passed, established wells and reservoirs, and organized more fire companies.

Credits:
Barbary Coast Press, Rick Covell
Copy by Katherine York and Tim Keefe
Illustrations by David McMacken
San Francisco Vintage Firehouse Poster is on sale at the San Francisco Fire Museum Gift Shop.