1928 St. Francis Dam Disaster Ruins - Hundreds Perished - Then & Now Scott Michaels Dearly Departed

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1928 St. Francis Dam Disaster Ruins - Hundreds Perished - Then & Now Scott Michaels Dearly Departed
Hi I'm Scott Michaels.
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/ scottmichaels
I'm Scott Michaels. I own Dearly Departed Tours in Hollywood and the original Celebrity Death webpage, www.Findadeath.... I've been doing this for over 25 years - my collection of one-of-a-kind death related artifacts includes the legendary Jayne Mansfield Death Car. On top of providing content here, I also have a podcast, linked below.
www.DearlyDepar...
www.DearlyDepar...
www.Findadeath.com

[@kennethj1956]

My step father lived in Santa Paula when the dam broke; the sheriff was driving up and down the streets telling people to go to high ground. The next day they drove around at looked at the destruction; they never had any idea how many people perished because there were so many camps in the river bottom. My step father was only 4 years old but can remember it vividly today at 96 he is still quite well and living in Oxnard.

[@1949rangerrick]

My mother lived next door to one of the dam keepers, as she called him. He was lost when the dam gave way. She told me about him on several occasions over the years. RIP all who were lost.

[@grannygoose1860]

I was pleased to see you made this video. My grandfather was a well known and respected engineer in California. My mother brought this story to my attention when I was a little girl. When they were conserned and going to inspect the dam they took my grandfather with them. He td them to stop the car he wasn't going to drive over the dam because he told them the dam could go at any time. He told them to evacuate the people who lived under the dam area. I believe this collapse of the dam caused Mulholland much greef he as my mother told me never built anything after. My grandfather was Edward J Morley who had been a engineer for LA county before the depression. He at the end of his life had his own chemical business Trojan Chemical makeing non-corrosive cleaners and was working on reclaiming sea water to water crops. Sadly he passed in 1952 from pneumonia.

[@MrsDannunzio]

Thanks for the info! Your grandfather was a smart man.

[@JaimeExploring]

After the Dam breaking, I can't even Imagine the reactions of William Mullholland and Harvey Van Norman the Inspectors. There words will always be remembered as "No cause for alarm" - Inspector William Mulholland stated after the dam breaking "Don't blame anyone else, you just fasten it on me. If there was an error in human judgment, I was the human" They say Mullholland went into isolation until he died at age 79. Thank You for sharing

[@grannygoose1860]

They knew because my grandfather told them and they chose to not lesten to him. They took him along with them when they went to inspect the dam.

[@JaimeExploring]

@@grannygoose1860 horrible this happen

[@buckshotjones666]

@@grannygoose1860 Wow Granny, you should document and let everyone know what your grandfather told them. Was he a concrete man or an engineer?

[@grannygoose1860]

@@buckshotjones666 engineer at one time for Los Angeles untill the big crash. He knew most engineers in the area. He was a chemical engineer. He also was the engineer that cared for the Los Angeles Club in down town LA and installed the first elevator in Los Angeles.

[@SurferJoe1]

Mulholland once described having a nightmare in which the remaining center column of the dam rumbled toward him and became a tombstone.

[@ToddEWalnuts]

That’s a beautiful area, Scott. Thanks for taking us along and telling us the tragic story of the dam.

[@kirknitz3794]

My family moved to Saugus in 1965. We lived near the intersection of Bouquet Canyon Road and Seco Canyon Road. At that time Seco Canyon Road was called San Francisquito Canyon Road. The road you were walking on was the road in use in 1965 through there. We used to drive through there often. There were larger pieces of the dam in the area where the crosses are. The flood went from there over to the Castaic Junction area, through Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula, and reached the ocean at Ventura following the path of the Santa Clara River.

[@robinscarborough8272]

Thanks for the added info !

[@leenorthcutt8421]

The overlay you did was a huge help to visualize the hillside and paint a picture of where it happened. You are an Awesome Historian and storyteller, I love watching your vids and listening to your podcasts. Cheers to you and Troy!!!

[@marzipanmelusine4321]

"You know what that means? Keep going!" LOL, awesome. Great video.

[@adventureswithchristian6967]

I used to live in Canyon County, and go out there all the time. You could see the same mountain peaks in your vid, and the pics. Thank you for a great dam tour.

[@herbm8709]

Scott, thanks for doing what you do! This Kind of history gets swept under the rug never to be heard of again. You have a gift!! Keep these coming.

[@LetsSeePaulAllens]

Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.

[@scottshannon2049]

Really interesting Scott, I'm a native Southern Californian and had never heard about this.

[@vikster90]

Thanks for just being Scott Michaels. I love the effort and all the history in your work. Come back to the UK!!!

[@celialovett5880]

Thank you for keeping history alive in the inimitable Scott Michaels way. It's a beautiful area even with The Hills Have Eyes vibe.

[@glamma77]

I’m seriously enjoying this new chapter of yours! I reside in Oklahoma, but went to your museum a few years ago, Awesome! I totally cried when Jordan the Lion did the piece on you closing( ready to see what you’re going to do with that! )

[@TuiSnider]

Whoa! I'd never heard of this tragedy! Thanks for sharing this historic tour. What an adventure you had getting to the remnants. Really creepy about the barbed wire catching people...

[@marianngeiser3464]

Very cool thank you. Went up there about 10 years ago and it only took us about 15 minutes to get to the ruins. It looks like they’ve changed the access and that you can’t drive as close to it anymore. Some of the older businesses in Newhall were used as temporary morgues.

[@hertribe1978]

Born in LA and being a SoCal native, I've always wanted to know more about this national disaster, Thank you it was well put together and extremely informative Scott!

[@johnpotter8039]

I had read the book, "Man-Made Disaster" in junior high school in 1963. I persuaded my older brother to drive me up to the dam site the following year. We drove up the original canyon road, quickly spotting the huge concrete chunks scattered in the rather bare valley. When the canyon narrowed, we saw the toppled, stepped "tombstone" section. Right away, we saw a dramatic change in the landscape, trees, heavy shrubs. This is because the flood stripped the downstream topsoil off. We climbed up to the ruins of the upper wing wall and could see clearly where the dam had been placed. We removed a small chunk of concrete and took it home with us. We also were able to tour power plant # 2 and saw the huge transformer, wrenched out of the basement and flung down the canyon, then retrieved, welded up and put back into use. I have seen a number of these videos recently, and it is interesting how much nature has done to restore the landscape after 59 years.

[@AquariusSoul]

Great vid felt like I was there with you!

[@bigrudd8746]

Wow, 2 empty so quickly took immense power and speed. So sad. Great coverage and coverage.

[@sllabymeugnot]

Nice job, Scott!

[@paulahumecke9225]

You picked a lovely time of year and a nice day to do this video.

[@MrRoach-yo3mz]

*Mr. Michaels, May I say, you're doing a fantastic job with these new videos of late, your approach of using FACTS & HONESTY on everything you video, separates you from all the others! ... It would be great for you to focus on doing many more videos of the Stars, Cars & Disasters while your museum is in limbo, it won't be long before you have a large following... and with Adsense and Patreon, you should be able to make ends meet quite easily?!?! ... We East Coasters who are too busy to venture to the West Coast or would rather stay here where life makes much more sense, appreciate seeing how whacky other side lives, lived & died. Thank you very much for all the twist & turns information you provide of the rich, famous, dying and departed! ... I will be passing your channel & links around to everyone I can..... Thank You & Be Safe*

[@GasserGlass]

I second you comment, aka BINGO

[@donaldkoelper5807]

My mother and her siblings were born and raised in Pasadena. Her older brother's best friend in elementary school was originally from Fillmore in the Santa Clarita Valley and with his sister was a survivor of the St. Francis Dam disaster. Their parents placed them high up in a large tree before being swept away by the floodwaters. Their bodies were eventually found near Oxnard. It took five hours for the floodwaters to travel the 55 miles from the reservoir to the Pacific Ocean. The collapse of the St. Francis Dam is considered the greatest civil engineering disaster in U.S. history.

[@susansuewwilliams]

Thank you sharing the adventure. Beautiful scenery, but a very sad tragedy.

[@robertwalt1555]

Great video. As usual. Kind of a creepy feeling I got while watching.. I hope you kept that chunk of concrete you picked up to add to your museum. Good job!!

[@mistervacation23]

Why don't you do something on the Black Dahlia murder

[@marypozzi3745]

By the way Scott I usually watch KZbin on my tv i didn’t realize it didn’t show I liked on my iPad once again I love your channels

[@fabergeegg1722]

I love history and I love that you have a lot of LA and Hollywood history. I'm 8th generation Californian. I had to do a paper in college some moons ago in my California history class on the history of LA. One of the disasters I studied was this awful tragedy. The resources I used were many books that were secondary sources of course, but I never got to see this place in person. NOW!! years later! I just watched this superb video!! WOW! This is awesome! Your video gives me a grasp at what I've read to a greater extent. I'm addicted to your terrific and very interesting videos!

[@goingslightlymad7172]

I love history like this! Thanks for taking us a long! :)

[@joansmith3296]

Scott, I'm familiar with you through Jordan the Lion's videos. I'm fascinated by this story ause the film "Chinatown": had to be based on this & its one of my favorite movies. Thanks.

[@shannapayne7096]

Keep the good work enjoyed it

[@bernardofitzpatrick5403]

Really interesting! nice to be out in nature

[@marypozzi3745]

Scott great job I never heard of this disaster before thankyou much I love your channels please keep it up

[@johnkelsey2482]

Excellent Vlog, Scott....Thanks....

[@levistubbs8949]

great vlog Scott , very informative, thanks

[@hcombs0104]

In 1997, PBS released a documentary on dams, and the St. Francis disaster was one of the topics.

[@lauriegulde942]

This was great, enjoyed this very much. Wonderful sights and good info. Thanks Scott stay safe.☺😷 lots of love from Canada❤💛💙👍

[@SaucyWench7]

I never heard of this disaster before. This is unreal Scott made this trek. So dangerous! Thank you for doing this so we can watch from the safety of our seats! :)

[@twoarrows2543]

Yes, very interesting and well done video Scott. You've forayed alot into blogging about non-celebrity related Californian history as well, hope to see more. My brother lives in Pittsburgh not far away from the Port Chicago Armory disaster site. California has had its share of industrial, engineering, military disasters and tragedies etc. As big and beautiful and culturally vibrant as California is, it's easy even for people living there to not always pay attention to all of the heavy industry, rugged terrain, not to mention the natural disasters, the dangerous side effects of having a vibrant culture and large population, the long history of crime and social problems that brought its own death and destruction toll, as well as all of the ominous ancient Native American spiritual energy floating around. With all of it's great natural beauty and vibrancy, California is quite marred and haunted with tragedy and spooky mystery. It is a very uneasy paradise, I just feel it everytime I'm out there and I feel it even through videos like this. I think you have that sense too Scott which is why I follow you and love your videos.

[@buckshotjones666]

Thanks for the info on the Port Chicago Armory, I had no idea! Makes you think how much is hushed up from the 20th century alone?

[@calliopec544]

I lived in SoCal for a year. “Uneasy paradise” is the absolute best way I’ve ever heard it described!

[@donculver153]

Very interesting Scott. Thanks. Love love the mask.

[@lolitamorris2943]

Never heard of this tragical event! Thanks

[@rebekahbridges-tervydis5054]

This where you bring more than 1 camera. And this where I bring a second method of transportation. Keep going!

[@hooper4581]

Pretty cool place Scott ! Thanks for taking us along !

[@maryanndavis9817]

Awesome 👏

[@SabastionP]

Great Video...Thank you so much for sharing!

[@brooklyngal6334]

What a tragedy! I just heard about this event through a recent video on "Ask A Mortician", a YT channel I think Hollywood death hags would also love. This was an excellent tour. Have to admit it was freaky how the camera conked out at the Rock Cairn. I love how you kept going though!

[@ladnarfilms5201]

I had never heard of it before. Very tragic that so many lives were lost.

[@midwaymonster30]

Super freaking cool video. I love old history like this.

[@mydyisgod]

About a week ago I had read the story about the boy tossing the snake on his friend. Here ai run across your video about the dam!! Very interesting for sure. The way you kept your camera focused, felt like I was walking with you!! Great video, great history about the disaster. New subbie here.

[@karenlulay]

Very interesting. Keep up the videos. Thanks for sharing.

[@jodyhoevel6393]

Another great post, thanks Scott.

[@iolaforeman7588]

Thanks for the video. This was very interesting.

[@steelpaine9932]

Thanks for this Scott! I just read a book, The Mirage Factory, that recounts this terrible disaster. I had family living in Santa Paula at that time. I’m going to research to see how they may have been affected, if at all.

[@funnygirl3351]

A piece of California history that I knew nothing about, thank you for this one, it was very interesting. #deathhag

[@jomama5186]

What a beautiful area! And what a great to learn smthg I didn't know!

[@norajazzypoppy9043]

Very interesting.Thank you Scott😊 love your mask 🇳🇱

[@lizretroz]

That was great! Love seeing these videos! Xox

[@follkiej]

Good stuff Scott! Thank you!

[@cherylfoster1223]

very interesting. love history. Thank you for sharing.

[@FreckledJoy74]

Is this the dam break from the movie China Town?

[@celialovett5880]

It IS referencing this disaster but the dam is called by a different name in the movie.

[@kennethj1956]

Yes, but different name.

[@bababooey7126]

Enjoying your videos!

[@sammanblue4352]

That was fascinating. Dams intrigue me.

[@tracimvs6840]

gorgeous area!

[@historybuff0393]

There's a Hollywood connection here. After the collapse of the St. Francis Dam, there was concern that the dam that impounded the Hollywood Reservoir (also designed by William Mulholland and called the Mulholland Dam) might also collapse. Some residents advocated draining the reservoir and tearing the dam down, but the LADWP decided to lower the water level and push a lot of earth against its face to further strengthen it. Old photos of Hollywood show the dam as a prominent landmark above the city, but after the earth was pushed against it the face got covered with trees and vegetation so that it can no longer be seen from below.

[@lanacampbell-moore6686]

Thank You😊

[@debla7532]

Proof positive we should remember that to attempt to contain all this beauty makes it dangerous and deadly. Leave it be.

[@johngoulding4805]

Awesome video!

[@lisellesloan3191]

I just found out in another video that Mulholland was put on trial, and though exonerated, died a few years later a broken man, from a stroke.

[@brandonguillory242]

great video sir

[@mikepatrick5909]

Cool video..Such a dam tragedy..

[@jk-76]

I think they don't teach much of this because people wouldn't have confidence in their local infrastructure.

[@lila6117]

Well done!

[@groovynik21]

the question is if they inspected it and didn't see any leaks, was it an oversight or on purpose

[@rebekahbridges-tervydis5054]

Interesting. I’d like to know more about you. I like your sense of humor. Kinda menacing and yet playful. Makes me laugh. I’m curious how a guy named Mulholland inspects a dam and says ‘it’s fine’ and yet it bursts. Still the guy gets a boulevard named after him?!?

[@clarkharvell5242]

A colossal waste of time, money and resources and of course lives lost. I had never heard of this until now!

[@scotpurdy8132]

I love all of these videos you post. So entertaining and informative! P.S.: In addition to the road leading to the former site of the dam, EVERYTHING nowadays seems very "Zombie Apocalypse".

[@JamesWSmith-sj2zg]

Wow. I thought this would be boring. Almost clicked off. And it was awesome!

[@ladybluegrass4173]

I got a chuckle out of the 'watch your step bitch' comment...lol

[@brucesumter4327]

wow those rock's is so big ty for that history

[@peachypie2926]

Its beautiful the landscape Need a bicycle that would to good Thank you. I loved it

[@johnfritz15]

Did a piece of the dam mysteriously end up in your collection?

[@SurferJoe1]

It didn't used to be tough at all to get there. I guess they re-routed the road.

[@consortiumxf]

"WATCH YOUR STEP...BITCH" is going on my gravestone. Keep going Scott! Love your videos!

[@joshfowler8360]

great dam video

[@ADCGunman]

Symmetrical Rock Stacking, just like the Philadelphia mass turbulence of 1947.

[@wht-rabt-obj]

How does one "fill" a dam? A giant garden hose?!😂

[@princenamor1939]

Are there mountain lions and snakes up there?

[@darrelljohnston8676]

wonder if they did some walking dead on that road.

[@markwithers9468]

@ Darrell Johnston the walking dead is filmed in Georgia.

[@flop2100]

I have a hat just like that.

[@larrydiaz4418]

CREEPY SITE I CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPLORER AND HAVE VENTURED TO SOME COOL SITE BUT THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD GO TO THE DAM SITE SOME SAY ITS HAUNTED AND THE COUNTY WANTS NO ONE TO VISIT THE SITE

[@brianmcclanahan5887]

Donald Trump hairpiece at 06:33 Sorry, I couldn't resist! :-)

[@skdkoc]

sorry, very boring!