As they have done for the last several years, the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society will host a tour of the site of the St. Francis Dam Disaster in San Francisquito Canyon on Sunday, March 13 as a fundraiser for the Society.

The dam break is the second-worst natural disaster in the state of California: the failure of the St. Francis Dam on March 12, 1928 killed more than 450 people, leveled farms and homesteads, destroyed property and livestock, and changed the way dam safety was addressed forevermore.

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“Dam Man” Frank Rock, considered an expert in the dam disaster, who has appeared on the Discovery and History Channels as well as local documentaries of the event, will give a short free lecture at the Saugus Train Station with an overview of the dam disaster, followed by a ticketed event, a three-hour motorcoach tour of the dam site.

The lecture will start at 11 a.m. The bus will leave Heritage Junction Historic park at 12 p.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. Tour includes snacks and motor coach transportation. Mr. Rock will provide a historical narrative of the disaster during the bus tour.

Lecture will be free. Admission fee for bus tour will be $35 per person. Tickets may be reserved by calling (661) 254-1275 with credit card and contact information or by mailing your ticket order to P.O. Box 221925, Newhall, CA 91322-1925. Mail orders must be received no later than March 8. Because this tour is a very popular fund-raiser, it is impossible to guarantee that seats will be available for purchase on the day of the tour. Order your tickets now!

PLEASE NOTE: The bus tour involves an approximately 1 mile walk to the dam site and an uphill hike over the dam site. Please bring comfortable walking shoes and clothing. Participants should be in good health