William Hanken of Nova Scotia received an early morning jolt in his Napa hotel room at the corner of First and Main streets. The south brick wall of the neighboring Opera House crashed through the roof and into his room right around 5:15 a.m.

The bed Hanken was sleeping on was covered with bricks. He received cuts and bruises to his head.

Hanken's earth-shattering moment took place April 18, 1906, as the ground twisted and jolted beneath Napa. Although known to most as the "Great Quake" of San Francisco, the estimated 7.8 magnitude earthquake that all but destroyed San Francisco did not spare Napa.

This fact was verified by both Napa newspapers of the era, the afternoon Register and morning Journal.

On April 18, 1906, the Register wrote, "... the most violent earthquake that ever visited Napa shook the city, doing great damage."

The April 20 Journal concurred, "The most severe earthquake which has ever been experienced in Napa ... lasted for about 40 seconds." The staffers of the Journal would know -- the paper did not publish the day after the earthquake because of substantial damage to its building.

According to both newspapers, strong aftershocks were felt in the Napa area for several days following the main seismic event.

Few Napa buildings were spared from damage. The initial estimate of loss was $40,000 -- a considerable sum in 1906. No lives were lost anywhere in Napa County during the earthquake.

Another local hotel guest, F.W. Hughes of St. Helena, narrowly escaped a fate similar to Hanken's. Hughes was staying at the Revere House, which stood at the northeast corner of Second and Coombs streets. The brick walls of the building partially gave way and sections of its roof collapsed, sending debris throughout the hotel and its saloon. The damage was so extensive the Revere House was eventually torn down.

The Bunce family lived in a wood frame house on Brown Street. The intensity of the quake lifted the dwelling off of its wood frame foundation, moving the building 3 feet to the north. The building then dropped back down, causing portions of the house to separate from adjoining rooms by about 18 inches. While all of this heaving was going on, members of the Bunce family were trying to make their way down the stairs.

During a particularly severe lurch, Mr. Bunce was thrown from the stairs to the first floor below. Luckily, he only sprained his ankle. Another Brown Street house suffered a similar seismic demolition.

Numerous downtown Napa commercial and municipal buildings were significantly damaged by the shaking. Judge H.C. Gesford's courtroom and chambers were wrecked by falling chimney bricks and a partial roof collapse.

City Hall and the Jack's Cyclery building "were cracked in many places and generally thrown out of gear," wrote the Register. The City Council moved to the Goodman Library on First Street, which closed until it could be inspected and deemed safe. As a result of that closure, the library trustees forgave all overdue book fines.

Another Goodman building, the bank on Main Street, was damaged beyond repair and condemned. The brick facade of Newman's clothing store's second story fell onto Main Street, taking out the power, telephone and telegraph lines.

Located between Newman's and the old bank were Kelly's Candy Kitchen and the neighboring Gilt Edge saloon. Once again, a brick wall came tumbling down. The roof and interior of the saloon were in shambles.

Some buildings, such as the C.C. Carpy and Company cellars along the Napa River near Fourth Street, and the Migliavacca cellars on the current county library site, sustained moderate but repairable damage.

At the corner of First and Brown streets, a portion of the second story stone facade of the Migliavacca commercial building, however, was strewn about on the street below. The building was home to the E.R. Gifford department store and some professional offices. A couple of days later those companies announced they were open for business again, at the Migliavacca or elsewhere.

Bricks of the destroyed Hayes theater building, at First and Coombs streets, littered its interior and the surrounding streets. While the building appeared to be a complete loss, the owner reconstructed the Hayes with a new infrastructure of iron and wood trusses.

About two blocks east, the brick Semorile building was almost condemned by city officials. Semorile persuaded the City Council to allow him to reconstruct his building. Another present-day landmark, the Sam Kee building at Main and Clinton streets, also needed considerable repair.

The newspapers were filled with long lists of residences with missing chimneys and damaged roofs. The walls of one Third Street home was described by the Register as "bulged out in a threatening manner and the entire building badly twisted." It was quickly torn down.

The Calistoga Avenue -- now Jefferson Street -- Bridge was seriously shaken apart at one corner. The Third Street drawbridge was jammed shut. The earthquake locked up and even broke the mechanical workings of the bridge.

Southern Pacific Railroad's iron-strapped redwood water tank on Soscol Avenue was hurled to the ground and smashed into pieces. Its 30,000 gallons of water flooded the area. Fortunately another water tank located on Pine Street withstood the earthquake. However its extreme degree of swaying during the quake did frighten nearby residents.

Although rattled and forced to deal with some disruption of life's normal routine, Napans of 1906 were grateful to be spared the horrific fate of those living in San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa.

As the April 27, 1906, Journal wrote, "The people of Napa have much to be grateful for. While many have suffered property damage to greater or less extent, no lives have been lost, and what damage has been suffered is being rapidly repaired."