Dec 22, 2017 moments after midnight on march 12, 1928, the st. My parents, grandmother and greatgrandparents were at the dam on the day of march 12, 1928. Many of the sleepy residents of the san francisquito canyon mistook the shaking and. It took another two years before the new lake behind the st. The disaster was initially blamed on the failure of the west abutment. Francis dam as seen from the air at a point just below the dam. Francis dam was a 200foot high concrete gravityarch dam built between 1924 and 1926 in st. The dam s 200foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of gallons of raging flood waters down san francisquito canyon, sweeping 54 miles down the santa clara river to the sea, and claiming over 450 lives in the disaster. Francisquito canyon near presentday castaic and santa clarita. Francis dam with water in reservoir, may 1926march 1928. Francis dam disaster site, california roadtrippers.
The journal of san diego history san diego historical society quarterly winter 2000, volume 46, number 1 gregg hennessey, editor. San francisquito canyon dam disaster california report to. Francis dam in san francisquito canyon near saugus was completed in 1926 and failed in 1928. Francis collapsed mysteriously at midnight, march 12, 1928, flooding the valley and leaving a staggering toll of at least 500 dead. I dont remember the name of the book but found it interesting reading. Francis dam disaster dam failure, california, united.
At two minutes to midnight on the 12th march, 1928, the st. Francis dam disaster, the second greatest disaster in california history. Francis dam disaster by john nichols arcadia publishing books. On march 12, 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, flooding all the way to the pacific 54 miles away and causing well over 400 deaths.
Francis dam collapsed on march 12, 1928, news of the tragedy was reported throughout the nation and in many other countries. About 500 people are killed following the march 12, 1928, collapse of the st. Feb 14, 2017 it was just before midnight march 12, 1928, when the st. It was a sunday drive to celebrate my mothers 19th birthday the next day march. The author wrote of great earthquakes, floods, storms, shipwrecks and fires. The san francisquito canyon, 50 miles west of ventura, is a narrow gorge running roughly north and south which links the san joaquin and santa clara valleys. Francis dam disaster, theres an oftenoverlooked back story of the events that led to the building and collapse of the st. Francis dam disaster and its historiography by abraham hoffman w hen the st. Francis dam can still be seen in the valley where it stood until failing on march 12, 1928. Francis dam cannot be told without recounting the story of.
Francis dam santa clarita, california atlas obscura. My parents were at the dam on sunday, march 11, 1928. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Francis dam disaster, march 12, 1928 santa paula times. The dam collapsed on march 12, 1928 killing close to 500 people in the. Amid tragedy and redemption, humor, and song, audiences will travel back throug h history to witness the making of a city. Francis dam failure and its impact on american civil. Francis dam disaster, catastrophic dam failure in california on march 12, 1928, that was one of the worst civil engineering failures in american history. Jon wilkman, author of a book about the disaster called floodpath, said the warnings came late or not at all in the farming towns along the path of destruction including castaic, santa paula, and. While both books were published virtually at the same time, they provide.
Francis dam shortly before it was filled to capacity. Francis dam disaster by john nichols arcadia publishing. Although undoubtedly running a weak second in mcmullens initial thoughts, by the time he finished the paper the disaster got top billing. A publication of the santa clarita valley historical society. March 12, 1928 it was in 1967 when i chose a book from the school library about great disasters in history.
Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. On march 12, 1928, just before midnight, it collapsed and sent over twelve billion gallons of water roaring down the valley of the santa clara river. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Mcmullen had an avid interest in the construction of the hoover dam, the subject of his planned master of science thesis. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Francis dam in the wee hours of march 12, 1928, would certainly qualify as one of the largest disasters in our states history. That back story, as well as tales of survivors, neverbeforeseen photographs and unique maps will be the focus of sundays opening reception of the santa. Francis dam in california, pictured after it collapsed in 1928, released 12 billion gallons of water onto the surrounding countryside and killed hundreds in the resultant flooding. This new contender for the title of last photo of the intact dam is submitted on april 16, 2005 by gene w. Mar 12, 2015 it was three minutes before the stroke of midnight on a windy march 12, 1928, when the st. The actual 1928 tragedy is not a myth at all, but a fact that had been. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors picks, and more. The dams 200foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of gallons of raging flood waters down san francisquito canyon, sweeping 54 miles down the santa clara river to the sea, and claiming over 450 lives in the disaster. On the night of 12 march 1928, it failed catastrophically, killing about 450 people in the san francisquito and santa clara river valleys.
Francis dam failure 1928, newhall, california by kenneth lafler. David rogers presents his theory on the collapse of the st. Francis dam the largest civil engineering catastrophe in california which kills hundreds. The author personally witness the flooding from a school in santa paula as mentioned in the book. See more ideas about dam, st francis dam, california history. The dams 200foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of. Some 450 lives were lost, making this disaster equivalent in its human tragedy to the great san francisco earthquake of 1906.
Outlands matteroffact narrative follows the course of the flood unleashed by the failed dam, providing tragic and heroic anecdotes along its path of destruction. As2804 list of employees automobiles wrecked in edison camp at kemp, ladwp archive. Minutes before midnight on the evening of march 12, 1928, the st. Nearly six hundred people were killed, making the disaster californias second. Mar, 2018 march 12th, 2018 marked the 90th anniversary of the 1928 st. Mar 11, 2016 just before midnight on march 12, 1928, the 209foothigh st. Published on mar, 2018 march 12th, 2018 marked the 90th anniversary of the 1928 st.
Around midnight on march 12, 1928, just days after its reservoir was full for the first time, the st. Mar 12, 2018 the dams collapse on march 12, 1928, stands as californias deadliest disaster aside from the 1906 san francisco earthquake and fire. Outlands manmade disaster originally published in 1963is probably the most complete volume of the story of the st. Book by engineer suggests ancient landslide was factor in deadly collapse of st. Francis dam was a curved concrete gravity dam, built to create a large regulating and. In what many consider the worst civil engineering disaster of the 20th century, the resulting flood wave rampaged for more than five hours through the night, destroying thousands of acres of farmland, ripping apart a thousand structures, and cutting short. Why a woman from santa clarita wants the world to know about. Francis dam western wing dyke in the angeles national forest.
By peggy kelly santa paula timesalthough most santa paulans are familiar with the story of the st. One large chunk of dam remains standing while another lays on the ground below it. William mulholland was the selftaught engineer who was. Francis dam was built in san francisquito canyon about 7 miles. The building the one in the photo above is a replacementthe original power plant was swept away when the dam collapsed. Francis dam disaster images of america nichols, john on.
The storied career of william mulholland, now in his late seventies, ends in dishonor after the collapse of the st. Francis dam california, 1928 draft document open pdf 4 mb this interactive pdf was developed to supplement the dam incidents and failures lessons learned information sharing llis webpage and contains information regarding the failure of st. The saint francis dam collapse and its impact on the construction of the hoover dam was submitted in 2004, but a it wasnt. Francis dam, located in the remote san francisquito canyon. In 1928, the secondgreatest lossoflife disaster in california took 400 lives and then slipped gently into obscurity. My greatgrandfather noticed the muddy water and knew something was wrong and told my father that they needed to. Historical society of southern california and ventura county museum of history and art, 1995.
Francis dam north of santa clarita collapsed, sending 12 billion gallons of water gushing to the pacific ocean and killing at least 530 people. Francis dam leaked, collapsed, and flooded the surrounding areas. Nov 06, 2002 minutes before midnight on the evening of march 12, 1928, the st. Ive run into a handful of individuals over the past few months in camarillo whose family members usually grandparents, but would be three generations back. But the earthquake was an act of god, while the dam s collapse resulted from the actions of men. Mulholland and the st francis dam failure download ebook. An avalanche of water left death and ruin in its wake. Lw3493 lower san francisquito canyon, aerial view, 1928. Both the coroners jury in 1928, and charles outland in has landmark 1963 book man made disaster, the story of st. It wiped out the tesoro site, then it demolished the famous harry. Detailed, local history of the san francisquito st. This postfailure photograph shows several men looking very small as they stand in the area below the failed dam. Remains of the failed saint francis dam, san francisquito.
Sep 20, 2018 dianne erskinehellrigel looks over the remains of the st. See more ideas about st francis dam, santa clarita valley and california history. Silent download highest available resolution water still flows in the santa clara river between fillmore and bardsdale in this film that was made soon after the st. As the plaque said, we were a mile and a half from where the actual dam had stood, so we continued north on san francisquito canyon road. The dam collapsed on march 12, 1928 at two and a half minutes before midnight.
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