St. Francis Dam Tour set for March 15 

The “Father of the Los Angeles Water System,” William Mulholland (left), chief engineer-general manager of the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply, and his assistant H.A. Van Norman inspect remnants of the St. Francis Dam after its catastrophic collapse on March 12, 1928. Photo by George Watson/Courtesy Watson Family Photographic Archive
The “Father of the Los Angeles Water System,” William Mulholland (left), chief engineer-general manager of the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply, and his assistant H.A. Van Norman inspect remnants of the St. Francis Dam after its catastrophic collapse on March 12, 1928. Photo by George Watson/Courtesy Watson Family Photographic Archive
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News release 

The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society has announced its annual tour of the St. Francis Dam site will be held Saturday, March 15.  

Four historians will speak on the quest to bring water to the arid land of 1920s Los Angeles and how one man’s attempt to make it happen turned into the second worst disaster in California’s history, said a news release from the Historical Society.  

The failure of the St. Francis Dam at midnight, March 12, 1928, killed more than 400 people, leveled farms and homesteads, destroyed property and livestock and changed the way dam safety is addressed across the nation.  

Tickets for the event are $75 and may be purchased on Eventbrite, www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-annual-st-francis-dam-disaster-lecture-and-bus-tour-tickets-1128566124659.  

This tour sells out every year, so early reservations are recommended.  

Speakers are scheduled to include Alan Pollack, archaeologist Ann Stansell, Dianne Hellrigel, and historian and “Dam Man” Frank Rock as they reveal the causes, consequences, and lasting impact of this historic tragedy.  

The tour will begin at 10:30 a.m. in a lecture hall at College of the Canyons and continue with a bus tour of San Francisquito Canyon, with stops at important points of interest to the disaster. Tour leaders will narrate a moderate hike at each stop. 

It is recommended that long pants, long-sleeved shirts and athletic shoes or hiking boots be worn for the hike, as well as a hat and sunscreen. Water and a snack will be provided. The hike will include the tombstone ruins and other remaining remnants of the dam. 

Funds raised will benefit programs of the SCV Historical Society at the Santa Clarita History Center. For questions, email [email protected].  

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