This week’s trail ride marks one of this valley’s top claims to, if not fame, then infame. This marks the 98th anniversary of the great St. Francis Dam Disaster — the second-worst thing to happen to Californians in history and one of America’s greatest tragedies. We’ll inspect some amazing tidbits that you just won’t hear in the usual and dearly respected sources about that 1928 night of horror.
Boy howdy, we’ve got an epic trail ride ahead, maybe one of the best ever, saddlepals. Best take a pillow or air cushion for your saddle. We’ve some tall riding ahead …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
HE DIED SO YOUNG — I hope he’s picked up a little bit more expertise in the art of horseback riding with us on these Mighty Signal trail rides into history. But back on March 13, 1882, Henry Mayo Newhall himself died after complications from being thrown from his horse while riding into the new town named after him just six years earlier. From his estate, The Newhall Land & Farming Co. was created by his widow and five sons and 10,000 private shares divvied up amongst the six. Hank was a relatively young man when he perished, just 57 …
MARCH 14, 1926
BASIC RANCHING: THE CATTLE DON’T HAVE PURINA PUMA CHOW BRANDED BOLDLY ON THEIR SIDES — Several mountain lions were blamed for the deaths of many steers and calves 100 years back in the canyons of Newhall and Saugus. Local Fish & Game officials estimated there was at least one cougar for every canyon in the valley back in the 1920s. A special hunt with dogs from — of all places, Los Angeles — was organized to find the cattle killers. Interestingly, after obliterating mountain lions from the SCV, we ended up naming the COC mascot after them.
DEATH BY UTILITY POLE — A man known only as Griffin was killed, but it wasn’t by a puma. It was via a telephone pole. Seems the fellow, who had been working on the St. Francis Dam, was riding into town on a bus. He stuck his head out the window along a narrow portion of the Ridge Route. His head collided with a mighty oak and the oak won.
IT SURE WAS A STRANGE WEEK FOR THE HIGHWAYS — A major oil pipe ruptured, creating a lake of petroleum near present-day Sierra Highway. It closed down the main road for a few days. Likewise, the rains caused a part of the Ridge Route to be closed for over a week due to cave-ins and landslides. I recall so many major oil ruptures here in the Santa Clarita Valley. Strangely enough, just a few years later, Nature Itself somehow cleaned up the mess.
BYE-BYE, DINKY! — On this date, the last of the workers left what was one of the West’s greatest borax mines. The community of Sterling, just west of Agua Dulce, used to produce tons of the mineral. The Sterling Borax Co. was sold to a foreign investor, who changed the name to Pacific Coast Borax, worked the pits for a few years, then sold the town and mine for scraps. This week, 100 years ago, the little “Dinky” steam engine, which hauled the ore on a special narrow-gauge rail, was taken out. In its heyday, Sterling was a thriving community of several hundred residents. “Nothing is left now except for some water-filled tunnels,” said one local, sadly. Of course, the mine also played havoc on the environment. What also was left were hundreds of dead trees and thousands of plants that choked to death from the fine borax dust.
WE SHOULDA TAKEN GAS CANS WITH US TO FILL UP — Locals were grumbling about a hike in gas prices. Not that many Santa Claritans had to worry about the price of a gallon of gas because most of us were still locomoting via horseback or wagons and buggies. Still. The price jumped 2 cents to 20 cents a gallon. Interestingly, that price would pretty much hold for nearly a half-century until the early 1970s. That’s one area where we can sigh and say: “The good old days …”
CALM BEFORE THE STORM — Locals noted that this brand spanking new St. Francis Dam, though unfinished, was filling up rather nicely with water from the Owens Valley.
MARCH 12, 1928
THE ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER — As far as local history goes, this is the big daddy anniversary of them all. The St. Francis Dam failed. A few minutes before midnight, on March 12, 1928, 18 billion gallons of water broke through the concrete wall up San Francisquito Canyon. By the time the dam drained by dawn the next morning, more than 400 people had died. One of the aspects of the disaster was that it changed a beautiful, scenic canyon with trees and meadows into a gutted valley. Gone were most of the shrubbery, trees and wildflowers and the topsoil to grow more.
FIREMAN SENSES DANGER — Pierre Daries, a game warden and fire marshal, was one of the first rescuers into San Francisquito Canyon. He had driven across the road and atop the dam the weekend before it burst. A friend driving with him noted the vibrations from the dam and told Daries they should “… get out before the whole thing comes down.” Daries, by the way, was one of the pioneers of developing fire protection in the SCV.
RANCHER SENSES DANGER — Tony Raggio was another who knew the dam was unsafe. He would later inherit his family’s homestead ranch in San Francisquito Canyon. He was 13 at the time and remembered his family talking about how unsafe it was. Frank Raggio, the patriarch, moved his family into Los Angeles prior to the break, claiming it would burst at any moment. Tony, his mother and his six brothers were spared b their father’s premonition.
MUD SAVES GEOLOGIST — Another bit of happenstance helped saved the life of Dr. Thomas Clements on the night the St. Francis burst. Clements, a geology consultant, was studying the St. Francis at the time. He usually camped out under a huge oak tree by the base of the dam. But because the dam had been leaking, he couldn’t get through the mud in his Model T. So, he motored over to higher ground in Charlie Canyon to camp out. That mud spared Dr. Clements’ life.
THE RUIZ CEMETERY — Of course, not all the stories ended happily. San Francisquito Canyon resident Henry Ruiz would later grow to manhood and ironically work for the Department of Water and Power. But he lost eight members of his family in the flood and never could talk about that night. They are still buried in the family plot.
LAKE TEMPORARY — For a while, we had a small lake caused by the dam break. At the mouth of the Santa Clara River at Castaic, a good-sized body of water formed. When the dam broke, a 187-foot wall of water came roaring down the canyon. It was reported to be as high as 60 feet when it reached Castaic Junction.
MARCH 14, 1936
COUGARS, GALORE, AND WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HUBBA-HUBBA COME HITHER SMILING MIDDLE-AGED DIVORCEES — Boy howdy. There sure are a passel of cougar sightings this trail ride. C.H. “Jiggs” Ullom lost his friend and pet, Blinky. Jiggs, who ran an animal ranch in town here that specialized in providing trained creatures for the movies, had taken his 3-year-old cougar-turned-actress on a shoot near Bakersfield for the Ken Maynard Western, “Avenging Waters.” Blinky got away from the set, swam across the Kern River and ran across the property of a prospector several miles away. The miner shot the affectionate big cat. Here’s the odd thing. Blinky was the THIRD mountain lion lost by Jiggs in the past three years.
BETTER DIZZY THAN DITZY — Then-Signal editor and owner A.B. Thatcher pondered in his column that major league pitcher Dizzy Dean sure earned a ton of money with his $40,000 a year salary. “Dad” figured Dizzy earned about $1,000 a game. I’m guessing there are some overpaid hurlers in 2026 who make that a pitch, warming up included …
PUT ME DOWN FOR A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES — I’ve always lamented that we can’t bring forward into the 21st century goodies from the past. Case in point: A local rancher was selling 20 acres near town. Asking price? A hundred bucks, cash.
MARCH 14, 1946
NEWHALL RULES, ARIZONA DROOLS — Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailiuz had his Newhall roots, with several family members living here. Gene was having a friendly argument with a friend of his, who was coincidentally sheriff of Pima County in Arizona. The Pima lawman felt that Arizona cowboys were much better than the California breed, which he deemed, “softer.” A bet was made. The Pima sheriff nominated his two best cowboys. Gene picked his — Vic Castro and that lanky Basque future Cowboy Hall of Famer, Andy Jauregui. Yup. The Newhall boys won the mini-rodeo hands down, representing California fairly well and settling forever our Western superiority.
MARCH 14, 1956
THE LONG-MISSING WHITE OAK — Long before the white man arrived in the SCV, white oak forests covered the valley. One of the last vestiges of the flora anchored the front lawn of the Presbyterian Church on Newhall Avenue. It met the woodman’s ax. There was nothing dastardly involved. The poor tree — nearly 5 feet across in diameter — had to be chopped down. It was rotten, filled with ants and termites and in danger of falling. They counted more than 500 growth rings. The tree had been a healthy adult a half-century before Columbus stumbled upon the Americas.
MARCH 14, 1966
HOT WHEELS ON OLD HIGHWAY 99 — It wasn’t the first time. A Yucaipa truck driver made a daring leap for his life after his semi’s transmission exploded, causing his fuel tank to explode, causing his rig to catch on fire while careening down the Three Mile Grade. Ken Harmon was hauling tons of anchor chains. The teamster, miraculously, was uninjured.
HIGHWAYS OF DANGER — This one certainly belongs in the Dark Record Books of Santa Clarita. This weekend 60 years back, 34 people in 25 separate accidents were seriously injured. Two died.
YUP. AND THEY BECAME THE COUGARS — On this date, several educational mucky mucks met to figure out whether we should form a junior college district. The idea actually goes back to the 1940s. College of the Canyons would finally open in 1968. It just takes a while to get things done around here …
MARCH 14, 1976
HART DISTRICT’S NEXT STEP: DRINKING ON CAMPUS? — If not a dark day in Hart district history, it certainly was a smoggy one. On this date, for some oddball reason, the trustees voted UNANIMOUSLY to allow students to smoke on campus. Well. The high school campuses. The measure had been recommended to keep cigarette fumes away from non-smoking students in the bathrooms.
MARCH 14, 1986
ANOTHER MEATHEAD EDUCATIONAL DECISION — One of the ongoing local issues that always had my head shaking was not having seat belts in school buses. On this date, a Saugus woman caught a coughing jag, didn’t see a stopped school bus and rammed into it dead on. There were only six kids in the Newhall School District bus, but the driver had asked them all to sit in the special seats reserved for handicapped kids. Authorities said the belts probably saved some lives.
AND OOTGD STANDS FOR … ANYONE? ANYONE? — Few know that the Oak of the Golden Dream in Placerita Canyon was first used — possibly as long as 700 years ago — as an Indian trail marker. (There’s another of these bent trees up by Casa Canela in Stevenson Ranch at Pico Canyon and The Old Road that made the Ripley’s Believe it or Not column in the 1940s.) On this date, a fierce storm filled its trunk with gallons of water and fierce winds shook the heavy main trunk. Part of the oak snapped off and crashed to the ground, showing its diseased core. To this day, there is a dispute if this was the original Oak of the Golden Dream where Francisco Lopez and two friends found onions for Don Lopez’s birthday salad — and, several nuggets of gold. Stories are that the real OOTGD is across the street at the Disney Ranch or used to be at the Placerita Nature Center but burned down in 1960. Francisca Lopez B. Elderrain, niece of Francisco Lopez, was 90 years old when she showed Melba Fisher (who was born in Placerita Canyon and lived in the Walker cabin) the original oak. There used to be a monument to it, dedicated in 1930. That plaque is now long gone.
CLYDE SMYTH & MARIA’S HOT TAMALE HOTEL — Former mayor and Hart super Clyde Smyth (Cameron’s dad) used to say it was a great day when you went out to the porch and your name wasn’t in The Mighty Signal. Perhaps our good leader was referring to a front-page editorial by Scott Newhall, who, in the 80-point headline, called Clyde: “Dr. Beat-A-Million Smyth.” Scotty’s barb was a kind one. He cited Smyth for spending extra money to attract better teachers to the district. Of course, Scotty giveth and Scotty taketh away. Much of his lengthy editorial pondered what you could buy for $69,000 (Smyth’s yearly salary). “It (Smyth’s salary) would pay for a year’s lodging — with food — at Mama Maria’s Hot Tamale Hotel on the outskirts of Tijuana.”
LOVE THAT TOM FREW — History is usually filled with disasters, generals and ribbon cuttings. But I surely don’t want the public record to ever forget one of the valley’s most unique individuals. He was one of those characters who breathed life into the valley in so many ways. On this date, Tom Frew IV, whose blacksmithing family goes back to the 1880s here, held a large christening party to welcome an arrival into his home — a new washer and dryer. For years, the rather well-off and cheap-asterisk Scotsman would use the coin-operated laundry on Lyons. One of his presents? A sterling silver detergent measuring cup. My practical-joking and dear, dear pal went on to his reward (Heaven, Filled with Whoopie Cushions) back in 2024. He made it to 94 this time around …
• • •
Mary, Joseph and Tom Mix, that was a long ride. Go home. Hydrate. Rest your heinies. I’ll see you back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post next Saturday with another, exciting Time Ranger adventure, and, until then — “¡vayan con Dios y Feliz casi primavera!”
Local historian and the world’s most prolific satirist/humorist John Boston has launched his new eclectic bookstore — johnboston-books.com. His hilarious adventure/family/supernatural sequel to the national bestseller, ‘Naked Came the Sasquatch” — “Naked Came the Novelist” — is on sale now. Ditto with his two-volume “Monsters” series about the supernatural in the SCV.
