The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society will host their annual tour of the St. Francis Dam disaster site in mid-March.

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The tour will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2016 on the 88th anniversary of the dam disaster.

The tour will begin with a presentation about the disaster at 11 a.m. in the freight room of the Saugus Train Station in Heritage Junction within William S. Hart Park, at 24101 Newhall Ave. in Newhall.

At noon, ticketed passengers will board a motor coach for a trip up to the dam site in San Francisquito Canyon and hike to the dam ruins.

Tickets are $35 per person for all ages and includes a lecture, snacks and bus transportation.

A $5 discount will be available to those who sign up as new Historical Society member.

Funds raised will benefit programs of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

Tickets may be reserved by calling (661) 254-1275 with credit card and contact information, or tickets can also be purchased online via PayPal at this website.

The tour includes an approximately one mile walk and steep uphill hike at dam site.

Participants should wear long pants and comfortable hiking shoes. Water will be provided.

Because this tour is a very popular fundraiser, it is impossible to guarantee that seats will be available for purchase on the day of the tour. It is advised to order tickets as soon as possible.

For more information on this and other upcoming programs from the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, please call (661) 254-1275, or visit their website.

Ed. Note the following article is a news release provided by the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.  

Information About The Collapse Of The St. Francis Dam

Just before midnight on the evening of March 12, 1928, William Mulholland’s St. Francis Dam suffered a massive collapse, causing a wall of water to travel some 55 miles to the Pacific Ocean.

The incident killed up to 431 people in the second-worst disaster in California history after the San Francisco earthquake and fire 22 years earlier.

The St. Francis Dam was completed in 1926. Legendary Los Angeles water chief William Mulholland was greatly responsible for building the dam, which turned out to be flawed both in design and in geologic location.

Soon after the reservoir reached full capacity in March 1928, it collapsed and sent a 180-foot-high wall of water cascading down San Francisquito Canyon and into the Santa Clara River Valley.

Mulholland took full responsibility for the disaster and died in 1935.

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