header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
April 26
1906 - Bobby Batugo, World Champion Mixologist in the 1970s, born in The Philippines [story]
Bobby Batugo


The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society will be hosting Donald C. Jackson, who will give a talk on his new book about the St. Francis Dam disaster: “Heavy Ground: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster”.

The talk will be given at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2016, at the Old Town Newhall Library, 24500 Main St., in Newhall, California.

Admission will be free. For more information on this and other upcoming programs from the SCVHS, please call Alan Pollack at 661-254-1275. Website: www.scvhs.org.

Minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, sending more than 12 billion gallons of water surging through California’s Santa Clara Valley and killing some 400 people, causing the greatest civil engineering disaster in twentieth-century American history. This extensively illustrated volume gives an account of how the St. Francis Dam came to be built, the reasons for its collapse, the terror and heartbreak brought by the flood, the efforts to restore the Santa Clara Valley, the political factors influencing investigations of the failure, and the effect of the disaster on dam safety regulation. Underlying all is a consideration of how the dam—and the disaster—were inextricably intertwined with the life and career of William Mulholland.

“[Heavy Ground] does something unexpected. It opens a new perspective onto William Mulholland… [bringing him] to life in all his sharp-elbowed, stubborn glory, saddened and perplexed by the St. Francis Dam debacle yet prideful until the end.”—Wall Street Journal

“Heavy Ground offers a penetrating analysis of the 1928 St. Francis Dam disaster. William Mulholland had designed the dam—so critical to Los Angeles’ hydraulic ambitions—and his reputation was destroyed when the dam’s late-night collapse killed more than 400 people living downstream along the Santa Clara River. But historians Hundley and Jackson do more than pick through the wreckage: theirs is an engrossing narrative, thoroughly researched, extensively illustrated, and deeply satisfying—the single best study of a very dark time.”—Char Miller, Pomona College

About the Presenter:
Donald C. Jackson
Cornelia F. Hugel Professor of History at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania
And Co-Author of Privilege and Responsibility: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster (2004)
http://dspace.lafayette.edu/bitstream/handle/10385/1563/Jackson-CaliforniaHistory-vol82-2004.pdf?sequence=1

A member of the Lafayette College history department for over 25 years, DC Jackson holds a B.S. degree in Engineering from Swarthmore College (he also passed the Engineer-in-Training exam administered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – in more recent years this exam has been renamed the “Fundamentals of Engineering Exam” or FE). After working for several years with the Historic American Engineering Record in the National Park Service, he received a M.A. and Ph.D in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania.

He is co-author with the late Norris Hundley, jr. of Heavy Ground: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster (Huntington Library Press and University of California Press, 2015), author of Pastoral and Monumental: Dams, Postcards and the American Landscape (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013), co-author with David Billington of Big Dams of the New Deal Era: a Confluence of Engineering and Politics (University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), Great American Bridges and Dams (John Wiley, 1988) now in its third printing, as well as the award-winning Building the Ultimate Dam: John S, Eastwood and the Control of Water in the American West (University Press of Kansas, 1995). His international stature as a dam historian is reflected in his editorship of the book Dams: Studies in the History of Civil Engineering published by the British-based publishers Ashgate/Variorum in 1998.

With Norris Hundley Jr. he co-authored “Privilege and Responsibility: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam disaster published in California History in 2004. His article “Structural Art: John S. Eastwood and the Multiple Arch Dam” was published in 2009 in Engineering History and Heritage published by the Institution of Civil Engineers; it was awarded the 2010 Overseas Prize by the ICE. His scholarly article in Technology and Culture on Roosevelt Dam and the early history of the U.S. Reclamation Service was honored by the Western History Association as Ray Billington Prize for the best article on Western history. He has also authored essays on “Dams” and “Water Policy in the American West.” for Microsoft’s Encarta Encyclopedia.

For over 30 years DC Jackson has explored the world of water history and developed an excellent understanding of archival resources and publications documenting this history. During his career he has held research fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, The Huntington Library in San Marino, Califonia, the Eleutherian Mill/Hagley Library in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Dibner Institute (previously affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and now affiliated with The Huntington Library). Among other sources, he has made extensive use of the Library of Congress, the National Archives and the Water Resources Center Archives (originally housed at the University of California, Berkeley and now affiliated with UC Riverside). Through it all, he has kept his eyes open wide and gained a great knowledge of dam and water history.

 

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NONPROFIT LINKS

NONPROFIT HEADLINES
Thursday, Apr 25, 2024
May is National Foster Parent Appreciation Month! Celebrate by applying to become a resource parent and fostering or foster-adopting siblings.
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024
The Salvation Army Santa Clarita Valley Corps is excited to announce the inaugural Donut Day event.
Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024
The Santa Clarita Valley Media Collaborative invites local creatives, media industry professionals, students, parents, teachers and others to celebrate the next generation of media makers participating in the inaugural NextGen MediaMakers Festival on Saturday, May 18 from 2-5 p.m. at the Canyon Country Community Center.
Monday, Apr 22, 2024
The Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Auxiliary presented a $35,000 check Monday to the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation for the foundation’s Patient Tower Capital Campaign.
Monday, Apr 22, 2024
The Acton/Agua Dulce Arts Council has announced a call for entries for "Creature Feature," a juried art exhibition, with a theme of any living creature.

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1906 - Bobby Batugo, World Champion Mixologist in the 1970s, born in The Philippines [story]
Bobby Batugo
Starting Monday, April 29, construction on the South Fork Trail will begin to replace a portion of the lodgepole fencing, the city of Santa Clarita announced.
South Fork Trail Construction to Begin April 29
College of the Canyons dual-sport athlete Sam Regez will continue his career at University of Portland with plans to run on both the cross country and track and field programs.
COC Standout Sam Regez Signs with University of Portland
An entertainment industry initiative to support the voices of California State University, Northridge film and TV students was celebrated with a recent screening of stories they created. 
‘Changing Lenses’ Initiative Lends Voice to CSUN Film, TV Students
How important is Film and Tourism to the Santa Clarita Valley Economy? 
SCVEDC Delves into Santa Clarita Film, Tourism Impact
Earlier this month, a team of biology students at The Master’s University won a distinguished award at one of the oldest intercollegiate research conferences in the country.
TMU Biology Students Earn Recognition at Annual Research Conference
Lisa Zamroz has announced her intent to step down as the head coach of The Master's University's women's basketball team effective July 1, 2024.
TMU Women’s Basketball Coach to Resign
Spring heralds a time of renewal and rejuvenation, not just in the natural world, but within our homes and lives as well.
Cameron Smyth | Spring Cleaning Your Neighborhood
College of the Canyons student-athletes Gigi Garcia (softball) and Hannes Yngve (men's golf) have been named the COC Athletic Department's Women's and Men's Student-Athletes of the Week for the period running April 15-20.
COC Names Gigi Garcia, Hannes Yngve Athletes of the Week
California Institute of the Arts' Community Weekend kicks off on Friday, April 26 and runs through Sunday, April 28.
April 26-28: Community Weekend Returns to CalArts
May is National Foster Parent Appreciation Month! Celebrate by applying to become a resource parent and fostering or foster-adopting siblings.
May 16: Children’s Bureau Foster Care Orientation
Santa Clarita resident Edina Lemus has been appointed Administrator of the Veterans Home of California in Lancaster by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom Appoints SCV Resident Veterans Home Administrator
The California Department of Transportation has scheduled Lane Closures on the northbound and southbound State Route 14 between Technology Drive in Palmdale and Avenue A in Lancaster, closing up to three lanes.
Caltrans Announces SR-14 Lane Closures
1906 - Bercaw General Store opens in Surrey (Saugus) [story]
Bercaw Store
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond testified today in the Senate Education Committee about the need for results-proven training for all teachers of reading and math.
State Superintendent Makes Historic Push for Results-Proven Training in Literacy, Math as Sponsor of SB 1115
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
Ocean Water Warning for April 24
Dust off the boots and get ready to holler, because Boots In The Park making its way to back to Santa Clarita, y’all. 
May 10: Boots In the Park Returns to Santa Clarita
State Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) and Supervisor Kathryn Barger honor the memory of those lost 109 years ago in Armenian Genocide. 
Barger, Wilk Recognize Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
The Salvation Army Santa Clarita Valley Corps is excited to announce the inaugural Donut Day event.
June 7: Salvation Army SCV Announces Inaugural Donut Day Event
The Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation has approved $370,000 in funding to support the Vet@ThePark program operated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control.
LAC Animal Care Foundation Provides $370K Grant to Support Vet@ThePark
The California Department of Public Health is encouraging Californians to take part in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 27.
CDPH Urges Californians to Support Prescription Drug Take Back Day
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion, introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Board Chair Lindsey P. Horvath, proclaiming May 2024 as Mental Health Awareness Month in Los Angeles County.
Supes Proclaim May as Mental Health Awareness Month
The Grammy-award winning rock ‘n’ roll group Blues Traveler will take the stage of the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. May 9. 
May 9: Blues Traveler to Perform at PAC
1962 - SCV residents vote to connect to State Water Project, creating Castaic Lake Water Agency (now part of SCV Water) [story]
Castaic Lake
SCVNews.com