The annual Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society tour of the site of the March 12, 1928 failure of the St. Francis Dam in San Francisquito Canyon is scheduled for Saturday, May 16. Tickets to the presentation and tour are available now.

The tour takes a deep dive into the tragic history of the St. Francis Dam, its construction, the builders, the community, the disaster at 11:57 p.m. in the dark and the victims.

The dam break was the second-worst disaster in the history of the state of California. The failure just before midnight on March 12, 1928, killed more than 400 people, leveled farms and homesteads, destroyed property and livestock and changed the way dam safety was addressed forevermore.in the United States

The SCV Historical Society has assembled a team of experts with years of experience in St. Francis Dam research, including:

SCVHS President Dr. Alan Pollack, will speak of the dam’s construction, the challenges and importance of this dam to the California Aqueduct project, the final communications and the dam break itself.

Ann Stansell, an archaeologist for the State of California Parks, will share her experience researching all the victims for her master’s thesis, both those listed in the coroner’s inquest and those left behind.

Dianne Hellrigel will talk about some of the families affected and Frank “The Dam Man” Rock will share insights into the causes, consequences and aftermath of this historic event.

Participants will meet at 10:30 a.m. for the lectures and video presentations at the Newhall Family Theatre, 24607 Walnut St., Newhall, CA 91321, (parking is available behind the school, enter the lot from 11th Street).

Busses will then take participants on a tour to the actual site of the dam, with remnants of the dam visible in the riverbed and surrounding area.

The speakers will lead a moderate hike and share more stories of the disaster and the effect of the dam’s collapse and resulting flood on the developing communities of Newhall and Saugus, as well as those along the flood’s path through Ventura County enroute to the Pacific Ocean.

This is a unique opportunity to engage with history and pay tribute to the lives affected by the St. Francis Dam disaster.

Join the SCV Historical Soceity for a day of learning, reflection and discovery.

Participants are advised to wear long pants, comfortable shoes, hats and bring sunscreen. Snacks, water and motorcoach transportation is included in the ticket price.

Tickets are $80 per person and are available at https://scvhs.org/st-francis-dam-disaster-talk-tour-2026/.

This event sells out every year, so get your tickets now. It is unlikely that seats will be available for purchase on the day of the event.

All proceeds benefit operational and preservation projects of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

To learn more about the SCV Historical Society and the Santa Clarita History Center, visit www.scvhs.org.

Photo at top is the “tombstone” remainder of the dam after the St Francis Dam collapse on March 12, 1928. The “tombstone” was later destroyed by the Los Angeles DWP in May 1929.