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St. Francis Dam site talk and tours set

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Contributed by: SCVHS on 1/24/2007

On Saturday, March 10, and Sunday March 11 Frank Rock, renowned St. Francis Dam expert, will be giving his annual lecture at the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the second worst disaster in California history (worst disaster was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906). The talk on March 11 will be followed by a bus tour to the dam site in San Francisquito Canyon.

The St. Francis Dam, located in San Francisquito Canyon, was built between 1924 and 1926 by William Mulholland to provide a reserve of water for the City of Los Angeles. Mulholland at the time was a hero to Los Angeles residents, having brought water from the Owens Valley by completing the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. This aqueduct allowed Los Angeles to grow from a sleepy pueblo to the metropolis of the present.

Unfortunately, Mulholland was to suffer the ultimate "rise and fall" story. Resting on his considerable laurels from the aqueduct, he developed the plans for the St. Francis Dam. He was so immensely respected and popular that nobody thought to question or oversee the designs that he came up with.

Sadly, there were several fatal flaws in both the design and location of the dam which resulted in a catastrophic rupture at 3 minutes to midnight on March 12, 1928. A wall of water initially 180 feet high raced through San Francisquito Canyon and then down the Santa Clara River Valley, devastating the towns of Piru, Fillmore, and Santa Paula before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Montalvo between Oxnard and Ventura some 5-6 hours later. The flood caused immense property damage and left at least 450 and possibly up to 600 people dead.

Mulholland was emotionally devastated by the disaster. He resigned as head of the Bureau Of Water Works and Supply (precursor to the DWP) shortly thereafter and died a broken man in 1935.

Frank Rock has spent many years researching the dam disaster. He is considered one of the leading world experts on the event. He has displayed his expertise on local TV shows "Legacy" with Leon Worden and "Points of Interest" with Phil Scorza as well as being featured in televised documentaries on the History Channel and Discovery. His yearly St. Francis Dam events have been extremely popular with both Historical Society members and the general public. Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn about the biggest news event in Santa Clarita Valley history and to travel to the actual site of the disaster!!

The lecture on Saturday, March 10 will be free to the public. Talk will start at 1pm at the Saugus Train Station in Heritage Junction.

On Sunday, March 11, there will be another lecture and also a bus tour to the dam site. Admission to the lecture and bus tour on March 11 will be for a fee of $35 per person. Talk on March 11 will start at 1 pm with bus tour at 2 pm.

Please call (661) 254-1275 for more information or for reservations for the March 11 lecture and dam tour.

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