News release
This year’s tour of the site of the 1928 failure of the St. Francis Dam in San Francisquito Canyon is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, and tickets are available. The tour takes a deep dive into the tragic history of the St. Francis Dam, its construction, the builders, the community, the disaster in the dark, and the victims.
The dam break was the second-worst disaster in the history of the state of California: The failure just before midnight on March 12, 1928, killed more than 400 people, leveled farms and homesteads, destroyed property and livestock and changed the way dam safety was addressed forevermore.
The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society has assembled a team of experts with years of research and presentations between them; SCVHS President Dr. Alan Pollack will speak of the dam’s construction, the challenges and importance of this dam to the California Aqueduct project, the final communications and the dam break itself. Ann Stansell, an archaeologist for the state of California Parks, will share her experience researching all the victims for her master’s thesis, including those listed in the coroner’s inquest and those left behind. Dianne Hellrigel will talk about some of the families affected, and Frank “The Dam Man” Rock will share insights into the causes, consequences and aftermath of this historic event.
Participants are to meet at 10:30 a.m. for the lectures and video presentations at the Newhall Family Theatre, 24607 Walnut St. in Newhall (parking is available behind the school; enter the lot from 11th Street).
Buses will then take participants on a tour to the actual site of the dam, with remnants of the dam visible in the riverbed and surrounding area. The speakers will lead a moderate hike and share more stories of the disaster and its effect on the developing communities of Newhall and Saugus, as well as those along the flood’s path through Ventura County en route to the Pacific Ocean.
Participants are advised to wear long pants, comfortable shoes, hats and bring sunscreen. Snacks, water, and motorcoach transportation is included in the ticket price.
Tickets are $80 per person and are available at scvhs.org/st-francis-dam-disaster-talk-tour-2026. This event is expected to sell out and it is unlikely that seats will be available for purchase on the day of the event.
All proceeds benefit operational and preservation projects of the SCV Historical Society. For more information, visit www.scvhs.org.
