The March 12, 1928, collapse of the St. Francis Dam north of Los Angeles is, in terms of loss of life, the second-greatest disaster in California history. AL1101 - L.A. Aqueduct Worker Sends Postcard to Mom from Jawbone Division (Mojave Desert), 1911. 920 CASA DE SAN PEDRO - The first known commercial structure on the shore of San Pedro Bay was built here in 1823 by the trading firm of McCulloch and Hartnell to store cattle hides from the San Gabriel and San Fernando missions. A huge dam was built in 1926 to form a reservoir, but cracks developed and on March 12, 1928, the dam failed and over 12 billion gallons of water flooded the area and over 450 lives were lost. When it first opened its doors Power Plant One had just one generator, producing 9375 kilowatts, enough to power over 6,500 homes today. Don't let people be killed. LW2548 - Cascades: 1971 Earthquake Damage. 2010 - Raw Oral History: Thelma McCawley Shaw, Dam Survivor (Barely) There are no signs, no memorials, nor even any recognizable ruins that mark the location where, on March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam suddenly and catastrophically collapsed. Mapped in 1910-11. The empty reservoir after the dam's collapse. The inquest jury did not recommend prosecution, but heaped blame on Mulholland for the disaster. HC2804 - Face of the St. Francis Dam, 2/1928. Of course, rapidly expanding Los Angeles was becoming thirstier and thirstier. We would stop at Phillips Ranch to sit under the trees and rest and even used the bathroom there at times.". 6-3-2004. The concrete ruins of the dam are nearly buried. After a year or so of planning and engineering, the L.A. Bureau of Water Works and Supply began pouring concrete for dam in August of 1924. She and her husband wound up buying a house in San Leandro, downstream from the dam. 2017) that the restaurant had been closed for a number of years when his mother, Jeanne Motan, bought the property from Gladys Phillips in the 1968-1970 period. Do you know of other interesting ruins in the state? The narrow and twisty canyon road up to the dam site is sporadically used, barring the occasional ranching resident or intrepid cyclist. Angeles National Forest Copper, Ranch, and Sayre Fires Restoration Strategy 2016. Only the 1906 San Francisco earthquake accounted for more fatalities. LW3102: 9600 dpi jpegs from Watson Archive negatives purchased 2017 by Leon Worden. DI2812 - Wrecked Farmhouse in Santa Paula? 8/4/2015: Video: Rep. Knight Bill Honors Dam Victims, Protects Sacred Sites (Press Conference), Extended Timeline: A Blow-by-Blow Account of the St. Francis Dam Disaster Alan Pollack, 3-13-2014. : Rep. Knight Bill Honors Dam Victims, Protects Sacred Sites Going up there right now isn't safe, but here are some places where you can enjoy the view and snap a pic. LW3496 - Dam Site & Santa Paula Damage (8) | ex-Ruth Teague. "Gladys said it was very popular for quite a while, having a pool, a restaurant, an aviary, a shooting range, deer and quail hunting, horse back riding and far enough away to limit uninvited law enforcement.". Avalanche of Water Left Death, Ruin in Its Wake by Cecilia Rasmussen Los Angeles Times, 2-16-2003. Courses. It was originally built as a weekend getaway for Gladys and Phil. AL1913 - Invitation to Opening Ceremony, Owens Valley-Los Angeles Aqueduct, November 5, 1913. At the San Francisquito Canyon head is the San Francisquito Pass, which the early routes between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley crossed. AL3024 - St. Francis Dam Under Construction, 1924-1926. Water to continue to flow into the reservoir until it was within three-inches of the dams spillway. Click to enlarge. . At 11:57pm on March 12, 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, and the resulting flood took the lives of at least 431 people. AP2319 - Perea Property / Raggio Ranch, 1887. 2017 - Oddity Odysseys: Exploring the St. Francis Dam Ruins HS2811 - Telephone Company Crew, 3 Miles West of Castaic Junction, ~1928. Gladys had a palomino horse named Baby that I learned to ride on. his name and the address of his Hollywood studio appear on the back of related contact sheets. MLS # 22003703. juanita maria spencer car accident californiapan peninsula canary wharf service charge juanita maria spencer car accident california The St Francis dam was a concrete arch-gravity design taking two years to build, being completed in 1926. Since 1820, San Francisquito Canyon and San Francisquito Pass were part of the original route of the El Camino Viejo, an alternate land route to the El Camino Real for reaching northern Spanish and Mexican colonial Alta California. I didn't plan on having much time to kill in the town of Hemet, California this past weekend. Most of these declared bluntly that the dam's design was defective, and the collapse was the consequence building on a weak foundation, though geologists of the time found no fault in the San Francisquito Canyon rock. While the total number of dead is unknown, estimates place the number somewhere between 450 and 600 people. Video broadcast Tuesday Feb. 1, 2021 on the NBC4 News. 23:03 - 23:10 because thousands of people rushed with their tin cups to drink the water. Mulholland & Harvey Van Norman Inspect St. Francis Dam Wreckage, 3-15-1928. 2 in the 1950s a couple of times for swim parties, once for a Halloween Party, and once for a picnic. Construction proceeded uneventfully, and water began filling the dam in March of 1926. 2 would also ride our bikes to No. Photographic evidence from the early 1960s shows that Gladys F. Phillips (no mention of Phil at that time) operated the ranch as a resort. View 48 photos of this 6 bed, 4 bath, 3774 sqft. Call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). HC2801 - Dam: Plugging Leak with Sloppy Cement, 2/1928. which of the following is a procedural defense? 2 and Clubhouse, 1927. The completed dam in 1927. Every Saturday night they would keep the opera house open all night and . published in the Los Angeles Times or the (San Fernando) Valley Times, which was an unrelated publication. LW2100a - St. Francis Dam: Wing Dyke Ruins (2 Views), 3-11-2001. . The Night of the Flood: The Failure of the Saint Francis Dam by Paul H. Rippens, 1998. 1 Employee Time Book for 1928. (Photo via Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection) The dam itself was the second concrete dam designed and built by Mulholland and his water department. St. Francis Dam: One Family's Ordeal by David Desmond Gazette, July-August 2006. 2017) that her father, Charles Deem, inherited the property after Bert and Ora died. 2018 - Santa Paula Candlelight Vigil for Dam Victims 4 Beds. LW2207 - St. Francis Dam Wreckage, March 1928. I don't really remember living in an LA without P-22, the Griffith Park mountain lion. All rights reserved. Shown Here: Statute at Large 135 Stat. Onlookers watch the swollen Santa Clara River sweep debris towards the Pacific Ocean. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. 2001 - Frank Black (Music): St. Francis Dam Disaster, ST. FRANCIS DAM NATIONAL MEMORIAL LEG. LW2419 - Elizabeth Tunnel Construction (L.A. Aqueduct), 1910. 1995 - Philip Scorza & Frank Rock: St. Francis Dam Disaster Nobody who survived the flood saw the dam break. 7/22/2015: HR3153: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial and Castaic Wilderness Act (Knight) "I have many fond memories of Phil and Gladys Phillips, as my family spent a lot of time with them. Though the rock appeared stable, it was ultimately not strong enough to hold back 12.4 billion gallons of water. A congressional bill to establish a St. Francis Dam National Memorial is working its way through the machinery of government. Drone Video: St. Francis Dam Disaster Site Danny Sullivan, 3-12-2017. The division's geologists and engineers review and approve dam construction plans and conduct regular inspections. St. Francis Dam: Too Big Not to Fail by Alan Pollack, 03-2010. 2005 - Harry Carey Jr. & Cappy Carey Mulholland was even recorded saying at the coroner's inquest after the disaster, "of all the dams I have built and of all the dams I have ever seen, it was the driest dam of its size I ever saw.". Residents and emergency vehicles will be allowed through, but the road is expected to be closed to through traffic while . California Los Angeles National Monuments Outdoors St. Francis Dam USA. 2015 - Press Conf. The Hunick family probably lived farther downriver during the 1928 flood, because Bert Hunick lost a sister and uncle in the dam failure Jefferson Hunick, 82, and Ellen (Hunick) Crosno, 55, daughter of Charles Hunick. The death toll was estimated at more than 450, but experts say that figure could be much higher. Each year, a half dozen LAUSD schools send approximately 500 students on field trips to the site to learn about the history and significance of Power Plant One and how it contributed so exponentially to the growth and success of the City of Los Angeles. Harris, Feinstein Submit Bill to Memorialize St. Francis Dam Victims (SCVNews) from CNBC: Jackhammers, strobe lights and sudden blackouts add to the play's provocative and . Newhall Morgue, FILM: Fox News Footage: Nighttime Recovery of Bodies, Memorialization and Memory of Southern California's St. Francis Dam Disaster of 1928, St. Francis Dam Disaster: Tracing the Human Story Through Archaeology and Oral History, News Story: CSUN Grad Student Memorializes Victims of 1928 St. Francis Dam Disaster, Engineer Suggests Ancient Landslide was Factor in Disaster, The 1928 St. Francis Dam Failure and Its Impact on American Civil Engineering. When he testified at the coroner's inquest, Mulholland said, "I envy the dead.". New Gold Discoveries in San Francisquito Canyon Los Angeles Herald 6-6-1897. The landowners in what's now known as Sunland and Tujunga were willing to sell their land, but only for an artificially high price. Owens River Water Rights Obtained for Los Angeles Aqueduct Los Angeles Daily Times, 07-29-1905. 2016 - Jon Wilkman: Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America RJ1000 - Preparing Vittles at Raggio Ranch in San Francisquito Canyon, ~1940s. 35554-35570 San Francisquito Canyon Road Santa Clarita, California, 91390 United States 34.5469, -118.5125 2017 - Drone Video: St. Francis Dam Site A patchwork of telephone switchboard operators and motorcycle police officers began the frantic task of notifying residents of low lying areas in its path. April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital. It was totally possible, Mulholland assured, as the water would flow downhill the entire way. Bodies were discovered years after the collapse, others were washed out to sea. LW2734 - Cement Mixing Plant at South End of Newhall Auto Tunnel, ~1912. Click here for historic photos of the St. Francis Dam and the aftermath of its collapse. 2009 - John Bergstrom (Music Video): The St. Francis Dam For LADWPs COVID-19 response, visit www.ladwp.com/covid19response. Dana Knauber remembers (pers. Powered by JettyManage My Subscriptions, DWP-NC MOU and Advocacy Committee Meetings. The ranch property is shaded yellow; the green lines are property lines. FILM: Wreckage, Red Cross Relief Center, more 3-14-1928. LW3538 - Photo Gallery: Disaster Site and Start of PH-2 Reconstruction; Robert Wenzel, 1928. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began filling a reservoir in the San Francisquito Canyon in 1926. Los Angeles Aqueduct Opening Ceremonies Los Angeles Times, 11-6-1913. Mulholland's first choice was to build the reservoir in Big Tujunga Canyon. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, March 19, 1928, Page 7, Image 7, brought to you by Library of Congress, Washington, DC, and the National Digital Newspaper Program. While the canyon was noted to have some unique geologic features, notably the inactive San Francisquito fault line, Mulholland and his builders decided it was a suitable place to build a dam. 2023. Doors and windows were nailed shut, the pool was empty and needed new filters (which were stored in a manmade cave in the hillside), dozens of peacocks roamed the ranch because the aviary was wrecked, and the side house needed extensive repair. SUBCHAPTER VGENERAL PROVISIONS 2280. comm. The (future) Phillips Ranch was under the St. Francis reservoir, shown in blue. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection, working its way through the machinery of government, Southern California's Snow-Capped Mountains Are Beautiful. It was demolished after a teenage boy who climbed the ruin fell to his death. 6. The canyon grows wider as it approaches the Santa Clarita Valley. RI1301 - Harrison Gray Otis & Ellen Beach Yaw at L.A. Aqueduct Grand Opening, 11-5-1913. It contains 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 2009 - John Bergstrom (Music Video): The St. Francis Dam 2017 - Film: 'Big Surf' by Brian Smee At the time, Hopewell figured he was heard a landslide. LOS ANGELES (March 17, 2017) - Located inside San Francisquito Canyon near the trickling waters of the Los Angeles Aqueduct sits the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) Power Plant One, a 70 megawatt (MW) capacity hydroelectric plant whose grand . HS2809 - St. Francis Dam Shortly Before Its Collapse. The restaurant continued to be listed in the local 1969 phone book but had already been shuttered. Not much is said about this historical landmark in San Berardino County, but the stone steps up to what is said to be an old bath house is an interesting place to explore. One of these was Lillian Curtis Eiler, who recalled after the fact that she and her husband awakened just seconds before the water came. comm. 2 Under Construction, ~1920. The Zestimate for this house is $398,003, which has decreased by $35,184 in the last 30 days. 7/11/2017: Video: House Floor Debate: HR2156: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act (Congressional Record) JB2801 - Power House No. LW3791 - (Kemp) Edison Camp Survivor C.E. FR3001 - Power House No. Photo Gallery - L.A. Aqueduct Centennial Celebration at Cascades, Multiple Views, 11-5-2013. LW2715 - Dam Victims' Bodies Fill Newhall's Masonic (Hap-A-Lan) Hall, 2 Views, March 1928. DI2802 - Another Copy: St. Francis Dam Intact, 3-9-1928. The subject property had been reduced to 29.45 acres when the Hunick family acquired it and no longer included the northwest side of San Francisquito Canyon Road. With the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, it became possible to harness the power of the entirely gravity fed water system and use it to generate electricity effectively at little cost. 2 would also ride our bikes to No. MLS# SR21049733. Hundreds of houses, bridges, roads and other buildings were destroyed, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Thousands lost their home. While the aqueduct was under construction, Mulholland began investigating potential sites to build a large reservoir. On March 7, Mulholland ordered no more water enter the reservoir. The power plant underwent a significant remodel in 1982 and now has four total generators, Unit 1, Unit 3, Unit 4 and Unit 5 producing more than 70 MW of installed capacity. HS2808 - (Formerly) Last Photo of the St. Francis Dam Intact, 3-9-1928. ID2101 - Marjorie, Mazie & Danny Curtis, St. Francis Dam Victims, 1926-1928 (Multiple Views). Hunt on the St. Francis Dam Disaster Rep. William Mulholland: Father of the Los Angeles Municipal Water Supply System, Historical Society's Dam Marker Placed, Stolen, 1978; State Marker Placed, 1979, Report to Arizona Gov. 1 and No. Dam keeper Harnischfeger, along with his son and girlfriend, were likely the first causalities of the 10-story wall of water. or water main break : AL2092 - Jawbone Siphon (L.A. Aqueduct Right of Way), ~1912. The St. Francis Dam Break Lyrics by Dan DeVere & Jane Williams 3-9-2003. 1932. It was the most amazing pool and house I had ever seen as a young child. Annual SCVHS St. Francis Dam Disaster Lecture (Video) 3-11-2017. By the spring of 1928, the reservoir in San Francisquito Canyon was a. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. LW3052 - L.A. Aqueduct Construction Headquarters at Saugus Junction, 1907-1912. If there is an error in human judgement, I was that human." HS7044 - Photo Gallery: Wreckage at Kemp Station/Blue Cut, L.A.-Ventura County Line, March 1928. This could be about when "Phil" Phillips who may have operated an early ready-mix concrete company in the San Fernando Valley and wife Gladys acquired the property. This is an archival story that predates current editorial management. 5/16/2016: HR5244: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act (Knight) It was completed a year later, almost to the day. Mulholland, as well as his number two engineer Harvey Van Norman, inspected the dam and determined that though the new leak should be remedied quickly, it did not pose a threat to the safety of the thousands living in the dam's hypothetical flood path should it fail. Llano del Rio is the abandoned site of socialist commune in the early 1900s. "I have many fond memories of Phil and Gladys Phillips, as my family spent a lot of time with them. As of 2017, the property is on the defaulted tax roll. LW2502 - Los Angeles Aqueduct in Placerita Canyon, 2 Views, 2013. OV2401 - Newhall Land Letter to Mulholland Re: Water Rights, 8-22-1924. The camp was previously used as a Los . It happened at San Francisquito Canyon Road and Riverview Road in Saugus. Annual SCVHS St. Francis Dam Disaster Tour (Photos) 3-11-2017. Ranch and restaurant owner Gladys F. Phillips is the woman seated at the bar in the interior photos (per Lynda Deem Burke; see below). Simeon Tucker, San Francisquito Canyon Rancher-Hotelier (1896-1902), Passport photo 1919. 1940s, Found 10-15-2013. LW3083 - Ruins of St. Francis Dam & Empty Reservoir, George Watson Photo, March 1928. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news. In the Depression Era of the 1930s, Author Marshall South built a home at the top of what he called Ghost Mountain. HB1402 - St. Francis Dam Rubble, 11-14-2014. "(Charles Deem) sold some of the property between the two ranches to Gladys." DI2819 - (2) Tourist Photos of the Tombstone with Ladder, 1928 (Sharon Divis collection). 40422 San Francisquito Canyon Rd was last sold on Nov 1, 2021 for $1,135,000 (9% lower than the asking price of $1,250,000). If you're enjoying this article, you'll love my daily morning newsletter, How To LA. The workers and their families who lived just downstream at the Department Power's hydroelectric Powerhouse #2 were the next. 3 Baths. 2016: Knight's HR5244: Giving the Victims Their Due (Pollack/Heritage Junction Dispatch) Built over the course of two years, between 1924 and 1926, the dam was planned and engineered by William Mulholland, the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply. Feeling a mist, Eiler's husband rushed Lillian and the couple's three-year-old son out one of the bedroom windows, and urged her to run uphill. A state commission later determined that the dam was poorly built in a geologically unstable site. Knauber described the single-family home: "Living room with a large fireplace, a long, wood dining table with leather covered wrap-around 'diner style' seating on the window side and captain chairs on the kitchen side and a medium sized kitchen. 2017) that her father, Charles Deem, inherited the property after Bert and Ora died. GREEN VALLEY A portion of San Francisquito Canyon Road will be closed to through traffic, starting Monday, due to pavement rehabilitation work by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. HB2804 - Cowart Family of Burbank Visits Dam Disaster Site, 2 Views, 1928. (Matt Tinoco/LAist). Most of the water in the city of Los Angeles today still is sourced from the aqueduct that Mulholland designed and built. Who Designed the Ill-Fated St. Francis Dam? During his late years, his family reported that he was consistently haunted by the disaster, never regaining the spunk and vigor he had during his time as the chief waterman. AL3030 - St. Francis Dam Failure, Ruins of the Dam, March 1928. 1928 - Fox Newsreel: Wreckage, Red Cross Relief, more Angelenos Petition Taft to Designate 1834 Gold Site a National Park News reports, 1910. In the face of a drier future, that iconic piece of Americana is on its way out in Southern California. Click to enlarge. The 12 MW capacity Unit 4 turbine is also an original, first installed within the plant in 1923. 1 sometimes to swim in the big pond there. Click to enlarge or download original scan. Power Plant One has been as steady and reliable for LADWPs operations as the LA Aqueduct, General Manager David H. Wright said. GM1928 - (Even Later) Last Photo of the St. Francis Dam Intact, 3-11-1928. Remnants of the St. Francis Dam, in San Francisquito Canyon, northern Los Angeles County. Brunner's Newhall History 1940. Upstairs, two bedrooms, a large master bedroom with a fireplace and a smaller bedroom and a bathroom. Perhaps more so than any single actor, Mulholland is responsible for enabling Los Angeles to grow from large boomtown into the enormous megalopolis it is today. A city electric employee, Ace Hopewell, rode his motorcycle past the dam about 10 minutes before it collapsed. 2016 - Rep. Knight: House Committee Hearing on St. Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act (Photo via Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection) Mulholland took immediate responsibility for the disaster, saying, famously, how "Whether it is good or bad, don't blame anyone else, you just fasten it on me. 2017). Saugus Division Aqueduct Workers Angered by Pay Cut, Spoiled Food News reports, 1909. A look back at the St. Francis Dam disaster of March 1928. This article was originally published March 11, 2019. 51:14 - 51:18 full to the . Hart-Earp Letters Discuss Dam Disaster by Truman Rex Fisher Letter, Los Angeles Times, 2-15-2003. She says hearing that the seismic risk to the dam is taken seriously and that it's been upgraded . AL2091 - Power House No. The photographer is identified as Bob Martin; LW3171 - Jawbone Siphon, Souvenir Postcard, ~1960s. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. In order to insure against cost overruns, each total cost set forth with respect to a project for water resources development and conservation and related purposes authorized to be carried out by the Secretary in this Act or in a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, including the Water Resources Development . FR2001 - Power House No. Click to enlarge. Location: San Francisquito Power Plant No. In the 1920s, Tumble Inn, which included a hostel and a gas station, was built along the old Ridge Route and was a stopping point for many travelers.