Exploring the St. Francis Dam Ruins

[@cowboyvalley]

THIS is the kind of stories the History Channel should be backing.....not the so-called "reality shows". You two are very polished at what you do. WELL DONE! Thanks.

[@cdavidlake2]

Exactly. This series is like an alternate universe History Channel.

[@kingtigertank]

Exactly! I love these two and their content!

[@jackie4350]

Well said

[@JuanSilva-ym9pf]

They used to have shows devoted to stuff like this. “Engineering Disasters” and “Modern Marvels” were the programs that filled out the early programming schedule on the History Channel until all that other crap took over.

[@angiecameron245]

I agree.💕👍

[@alistairville9303]

So great that you got local historians, Alan and Dianne, to add their voice to your report.

[@OddityOdysseys]

They were amazing! We were thrilled to have them join us for the episode.

[@utahsickofitall]

Great video of a solemn place. I went up there for the first time last year and at times it is hard to imagine a full reservoir behind that dam and what that area looked like back then. As a Civil Engineer myself my biggest fear is something I approve would cost another their life. In many respects I feel great pity for Mulholland.

[@765kvline]

In 1984, I had a tour of the site by a retiree of the Bureau of Power & Light (Department of Water & Power), who was one of the first to access the reach the dam site and rescue several survivors. We went to the remains of the wing wall, which has a small historical marker there. Hidden by weeds, he knew how to find it. I have a piece of the St. Francis Dam at home and many historical works about the disaster.

[@BeyondTheCompass817]

Wow, that is some serious history. Tragic, too. Very well done.

[@charlesdean3089]

Excellent presentation! So happy this popped up in my feed. Mulholland truly is a tragic figure right out of Shakespeare.

[@camclarke8796]

Thank you Alan and Dianne for such an informative part of California's history. Well researched and well done!

[@TheAdventureBuddies]

Love how it's informative and interesting at the same time. Well done for the video!

[@tammanyfields3583]

Went here and through here all the time exploring and feeling the emotion of all the life lost there.

[@bocswu]

I learned of the dam disaster from a song. 2001's St. Francis Dam Disaster by Frank Black and the catholics. Reading the lyrics always gives me the chills. There was a well known water master man He was the king He could do anything The St. Francis dam disaster, man Thought she was all right Until around midnight Because that water seeks her own She had a desire to flow She was looking for somewhere to go She was a slave to the great metropolis She was feeling choked She pushed the wall till it broke When they heard the great apocalypse At powerhouse number 2 Well, there was nothing they could do Because that water seeks her own Five and one half hours she would flow She had 53 miles to go A cascade down to Santa Clara way Near 60 feet high Now she's a mile wide It was clear she was going far away And whole towns were, too A few got lucky in Piru Because that water seeks her own But four more hours she would flow She had 29 miles more to go She carried in her every kind of thing House, tree, and telegraph pole Some say a thousand souls At 3 A.M. she gave Santa Paula a ring She was still 25 feet high Under a peaceful sky Because that water seeks her own But two more hours she would flow She had 19 miles more to go It was a real bad night in little Saticoy El Rio, then Montalvo How many, no one really knows Ventura Beach was very scary, boy Humanity a-pile She went a final mile Because that water seeks her own Into the sea water flowed Now forever she would go

[@smilncynic]

That is one weak one-week dam! I loved the history and presentation; excellent vid!

[@andyoncam1]

A combination of lock-down here in the UK and my long held fascination with the history and geography of LA has led me to a lot of KZbin viewing and subsequently to your very interesting channel. I've only had chance to watch a few of your videos so far but your relaxed, informal and informative style makes them a delight to watch. I couldn't help but be reminded of the parallels between the St Francis dam disaster you describe here and the fictional dam collapse referred to in Polanski's magisterial film 'Chinatown' and the 'water-wars' that formed the basis of the film. Its worth noting that the torrent of water was so great that people were killed in the town of Piru, some 22 miles down stream.

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us kind words and your experiences! We hope you are staying safe, healthy and happy during these times. Have a great rest of your week and we hope you will stay tuned. :)

[@naomidavis3665]

Hey, Drew and Bethany! Great Oddity! I was a little nervous when you climbed up to the top platform....so high! Enjoyed the seismic discovery and glad you didn't shake it! LOL! Loved it so much. Keep 'em coming! Naomi Davis :)

[@AudiophileTubes]

Utterly FASCINATING! I did not know about this 'great American disaster'! Well done!

[@comegetyourjuice6370]

This is AMAZING! Thank you guys for this masterpiece of a video! Keep doing what you do!

[@santana898989]

Excellent efforts. I'm from Los Angeles, and love history. I knew about this tragedy, but not all of the details. Thank you.

[@slufoot77]

Another awesome episode :) You guys need to be on TV :)

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you! Maybe one day ;)

[@residentpotato6023]

I want to explore Bethany without a dental dam.

[@rontom7344]

I once visited this site while in college on a class field trip. Very interesting and informative bit of Los Angeles history. I never knew of this dam's existing before this trip and I really want to re-visit this site with some friends. I'm always interested in visiting sites that once stood or had a significant history to it and now no longer exists. Well done. Thank you!

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you for watching!

[@tonymac4044]

Great work guys!!! I love the old pics and videos!!! This was a dam good episode!!!

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you! And awesome job being the first to use the "dam" pun in comments :)

[@scotts7017]

I was going to make one but dam, I didn’t get this in my feed until now 🙁.

[@TrumpetMAB]

It's funny that you went looking for the dam site knowing it existed. I knew nothing of the disaster and stumbled onto it quite by chance. I had been exploring San Francisquito Canyon and found the overlook above the Pyramid. I photographed it not knowing what it was until a couple of days later when I was using Google Maps to geotag my photos and Google placed photos captioned "St. Francis Dam Ruins" on the page. A week later I was back out there taking photos of the old road and the ruins. It is a fascinating piece of LA history for sure.

[@moth450]

You guys are great. Love the adventures. Thank you I really enjoyed the history lesson on this one.

[@gordybishop2375]

I keep forgetting the reason the tombstone was no longer there. Thanks for reminding us about the last victim of this tragedy

[@dennishanley9103]

Excellent video! Thank you so much for all you've done. I remember hearing about after the failure of the dam the water flowed through Fillmore and Santa Paula, all the way to the ocean in Oxnard. An unknown number of migrant farm workers lost their lives along the way. There were, and probably still are, a lot of people in the Santa Clara River Valley that thought Wm. Mulholland was the villain who should have been imprisoned for causing this tragedy. Maybe one person shouldn't have had so much influence on the design of such a large project, and I suspect today there would be an amazing level of expert review. For what it's worth, I attended Wm. Mulholland Jr. High School in the 1960's, were Mulholland was portrayed as a hero for bringing water to Los Angeles and was largely responsible for the city's ability to grow and prosper as a result.

[@traviscrabtree8782]

This is why the internet is awesome. In wanting to know the origin of the name Mulholland Dr. I came across your site and now in the matter of minutes I have taken a trip to the dam site with you guys and have gained great knowledge on the tragedy. I could almost feel the wind blowing during much of the film! Do you guys know of the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania and the Thompson flood of Colorado? Interesting stories also. Great work guys and I look forward to viewing your website too. Thanks

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you, Travis! We haven't heard of those events but now we've added them to the list. Can never have too many suggestions for episodes :)

[@marinegunny826]

I was born in southern California, grew up in the San Fernando valley and had never heard of this event. Moved to Virginia in 92 and by chance, read about it online. Wife and I almost yearly road trip out to California to visit my Mom, so in 2008 went to find the dam ruins. I now have a small piece of the dam on my fireplace mantle

[@Ffwee]

A very well done and respectful mini-documentary. Big thumbs up.

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you so much!

[@andrewmay8824]

Another great video. Thanks for some interesting history.

[@Batman-es8nm]

I love history. Thank you for sharing

[@larryfisher9358]

When I was an EE senior at New Mexico State Univ. (Las Cruces) ca 1960, I was rummaging in the Goddard Hall attic and came across a forgotten book of photos of the dam--part of the post-failure study. I didn't know at the time what it was, but it piqued my interest and, over the years, have read a bit about it. I had always wondered what came of the remains. Thank you for a very interesting, if melancholy, explanation. A sad reminder of what can happen when engineers make mistakes! (In particular, when dam builders don't talk to geologists.) In particular, I wondered about the disposition of the "tombstone". The explanation is sadder and more tragic than I had realized.

[@ponyhorton4295]

Likely that book would have been MAN-MADE DISASTER by Charles Outland. Also, Mulholland DID speak to geologists, and the dam was signed-off on by other engineers. They had NO WAY of knowing about the paleo landslides yet, as geologic engineering was barely known as a science yet.

[@janetgasman3784]

Another outstanding episode you guys!!! Great job on the interviews. Really enjoyed it.

[@donnasloane9031]

Great to hear all this....sorry about the people...very sad.....but how wonderful to be educated on the history.thank you everyone.

[@SKF358]

This is the best reporting on the St. Francis Dam that is available.

[@nathanbugg3221]

Very well put interviews and video. You 2 are my new favorite adventure video folks.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Love the documentary style presentation. Better than any

[@da7heaven]

Very professional, well done! You two are fun and informative!

[@Dusty_Peanuts]

I love very close to the dam and I didn't even know the history behind it! I gotta visit it now and experience it for myself now, thank you for the great video!

[@mikebettencourt8377]

Thank you for the video. I've read a lot but seeing the site really helps me understand.

[@tuckert7883]

Thatnks for sharing..great story and editing

[@lumbee1587]

Great video I live out here and love our history. Been to this spot many times

[@JonathanLeggAdventure]

Well done guys. Came across this video after cutting my own. You've definitely gone much more in depth with the details. Well produced and hosted. kudos.

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you so much! We'd love the chance to see your work in the future.

[@jerkytoo8184]

Great video. Some great history.

[@janettamcgee8124]

Gosh, y'all are great. We got a history lesson and science lesson all in one. This was very interesting, but sad, story.

[@concerned1313]

Again, another great video. Though I was aware of everything you talked about, the detail was precise. I have not visited the dam site yet and it is on my bucket list. I was unable to find "extended interviews" on your website that you mentioned in your KZbin video here. Mulholland was one of my idols and was an uneducated engineer. He was educated via his own studies. The Hollywood Reservoir is another one of his dams and they keep it below full capacity today in part due to the Saint Francis Dam Disaster. If it wasn't for Mr. Mulholland, much of Los Angeles would of grown much later then it did. He affected individual cities and towns, but mostly the layout of the City and County of Los Angeles. You both sound like you two have a couple of history degrees. You both speak well and are concise and factual. The only way I can tell is by reviewing videos of subjects I know much about like Mr. Mulholland. I have read his daughter's book and I own it and it is part of my personal library. Thank you and will be watching more of your videos down the road! I just subscribed...

[@staubach1979rt]

Good video on some serious California history that very few people are aware of. The flood waters traveled south until turning west at the Santa Clara River just north of present day Magic Mountain. Eventually, the waters reached the Pacific. Bodies were literally found at the California-Mexico border. The second largest California disaster in history as far as lives lost. It's remarkable that more people don't know this history. Great job.

[@doug7232]

Best of these I've seen and there are quite a few

[@rbrown8695]

It's nice seeing my home town of Santa Clarita and seeing them take a tour down San Francisquito Canyon where my parents live. Very familiar area.

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Loving your videos just found them a few days ago. You have a fan from England keep up the good work looking forward to watching all your videos

[@OddityOdysseys]

Glad to have you! Thanks for watching. :)

[@cartman4885]

Very well done and informative thanks to all of you

[@joaquinncisneros5886]

Can you guys also do a episode on the 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam Collapse also Watts Towers is similar to the bottle house too

[@brillblonde6705]

Great episode! What a story this is. Absolutely fascinating and heartbreaking, too. Excellent!

[@scottconnelly2223]

Excellent presentation. I just finished reading Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles Kindle Edition by Margaret Leslie Davis . I checked online maps and google earth as I wanted to learn more and go explore the area sometime. The historical photos are very interesting. The book described many details including the inquest as to the cause. In 1994 a project identified the ancient Paleolithic landslide. Takeaway no one person should have the sole responsibility to make all the decisions.

[@davidgault4337]

Just discovered your show... Great episode! May I recommend doing a follow-up on the Mulholland Dam and its 'enhancement' following the St. Francis Dam failure.

[@MattXplorz]

I love this!!!! I'm such a history buff, I try to do something similar on my channel. This gave me inspiration

[@coltsuperocean10]

....another great documentary film guys, keep up the excellent work.

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you!

[@damiancentanni2773]

Thank you Bethany and Drew! 👍 Wonderfully educational video! I grew up in Compton (Southeast LA County) and, Buena Park(Orange Co)

[@SumDumGy]

I visited this site just two days ago. I guess I was fortunate. Read the Wikipedia article then used Google Maps to view the length of San Francisquito Rd. from the air. Watched for debris, then made the drive. No sweat. The 90th anniversary is only weeks away.

[@Victorsanchez-zk9mq]

Always looking for new places to explore. Great video thanks.

[@Magicmountainguy]

I went back up there two days ago. San Francisquito Canyon is so beautiful! Took my dog up there with me. No one else was up there, so I had the whole area to myself. There’s a peaceful feeling there now. I felt sad though as I sat there and thought about all the lives lost!

[@KutWrite]

Ahhh... The story behind the story behind the film "Chinatown!"

[@Jabroni2U]

Interesting and wonderful reporting as usual, thanks

[@jimholmes2555]

Great History. Thank You!

[@StevePicaGCT]

This was a GREAT video! Anyone interested in Mulholland and the role of water in the development of Los Angeles and the environs, see if you can find a copy of ' Rivers in the Desert ' by Margaret Leslie Davis. Unfortunately it is out of print but it's a really good read and also covers this disaster.

[@peteterrill2329]

Brilliant vid. Well done, AGAIN!

[@YOURCAPSLOCKISON]

Great video!! And as of today... this memorial is happening! :)

[@johnpotter8039]

I had read "Man Made Disaster" in 1964 in junior high school and arranged to have my brother drive us up to the dam site. It has changed a good bit over the past 57 years. First, we drove up the old road, and it was clear where the dam was because the terrain to the north of the site was lush, green and wooded. The area below was still scoured and nearly barren. It had been only 36 years since the collapse. The wing wall was intact, and the steps of the "tombstone" were more visible. We brought back a chunk of concrete from one of the downstream sections. We also talked our way into Powerplant # 2 during our 1964 trip. We saw the transformer that was wrenched out of the basement and tossed down the canyon, fished out, welded back together and re-used. I went back in the late 1980s. I hooked up with a Boy Scout troop and their scoutmasters, one who had a copy of the book. It was interesting to be among young men who were my age when I first saw the dam. It was clear that the wing wall had been demolished with explosives, not natural weathering. We went together to San Francisquito Powerplant # 1 and had a fascinating tour. The Pelton Wheel generators still had their "50 Hz buckets", designed to generate 50-cycle power that ran Los Angeles until the early 1950s. I have visited the ruins of the South Fork Dam above Johnstown, PA, and, at the end of the summer, I am going on a military history tour in Belgium and France, then flying to Italy to see the Vajont Dam, the site of the October, 1963 landslide that sent a 750' tsunami down a narrower canyon, killing over 3,000 people. I have long been haunted about the St. Francis Dam. I will return sometime, in the next few years,

[@jflow08]

I had to go see the site for myself. So surreal to see this part of history.

[@johnwayne6501]

there used to be a CBS tv show in the 80's called "Two on the town". You guys are so top notch and should do a TV show like it.

[@jedburnell9046]

In the 50's CBS had a similar show called Ralphs Story.

[@jamesrauff]

Great stuff ! Very informative and historic

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you for watching!

[@travelingwithrick]

A movie was made, small part of it showed mulhollands st. Francis dam. Swore never to build again. Most of the movie is about how a greedy millionaire would bring water to the desert community of LA. it's called 'Chinatown'.

[@godknowsimstupid7848]

What a greay Dam video, lots of dam experts and good dam exploration lol

[@jeffreysausedo3289]

I love your channel. Keep it up

[@Sitonmyfacebook]

Great dam video...

[@rockytop228]

Another great episode 👍🏻 Thank you!!

[@reinhardtnilsson7360]

Great video again guys, and Beth keep it COMING!!!!

[@billsmith9711]

seems to me like California should be trying to construct more and better reservoirs for the use of water by the people. There are many good locations to build them and capture the snow runoff each year. Instead of building a train that no one will use.

[@BrianFolks]

Thanks again for another great episode.

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you!

[@victorbreitenbucher2332]

You guys have some awesome videos, so cool!

[@rainer250]

You'd think a growing number of cracks appearing on the face of the dam would be red flags that something was wrong and the muddy water that Tony Harnishfiger spotted on the morning of the disaster, which inditicated the dam's foundation was being washed away.

[@ponyhorton4295]

All concrete dams crack and leak. Just part of how they are. Rolled earth fill is much more stable. But back then, the science of rolled earth fill was not well-developed. Hollywood Dam is the exact same design and build as St. Francis, and because the DWP covered it with 300,000 cubic yards of earth, and planted trees, it's now more stable and still in operation.

[@RW4X4X3006]

It's the dam that don't leak, you gotta worry about. The dam was stout, the ground was not.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

@@ponyhorton4295 You mean the Mulholland Dam named in honor of William Mulholland,

[@ponyhorton4295]

@@deconteesawyer5758 Yes. It's also been called Hollywood Dam for a long time.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

@@ponyhorton4295 ... and before that for a long time it was named ... If you are riding in the wayback machine why stop there.

[@RCAFTailWind]

What a great documentary. Thanks

[@OddityOdysseys]

Thank you for watching!

[@michaelracobs1956]

Great job guys.

[@NatureShy]

Some oddities in the Pacific Northwest you may be interested in, if you two ever come up here: 1. Clackamas Falls and the abandoned waterworks pipeline to supply water to Oregon City 2. Verona-Banks Rail to Trail (abandoned rail line, and many abandoned wooden trestle bridges) 3. Deschutes River Canyon Abandoned Railroad Line (parts still survive in the hot, desert canyon) 4. Abandoned Mt. Adams Highway, on the Potato Hill Road (FR-5603) 5. Abandoned vehicles and destroyed highway bridge remnants on Mt. St. Helens after the blast 6. Barlow Road remains, over Mt. Hood (part of the Oregon Trail) 7. Oregon Trail remains, in eastern Oregon 8. Abandoned fire lookout remains, on Olallie Butte, and many other peaks 9. Abandoned Skyline Road remnants between Olallie Lake and Mt Hood, that would eventually have traversed the Cascade Range, from Crater Lake to Mt Hood. 10. Abandoned West-side Road on Mt. Rainier that washed out from numerous glacial washout floods 11. Carbon River Road remnants, also destroyed by glacial washouts from Mt. Rainier 12. Channeled Scablands in eastern Washington desert, and the Columbia River Gorge, between Oregon and Washington, both carved out, scalloped, and eroded away by the most massive glacial floods in world history (the Missoula Floods). Examples of the potholes, coulees, cliffs, and water-eroded features include the Ancient Lakes, Palouse Falls, Sun Falls/Dry Lakes (site of the largest falls in the world, at the time), French Coulee, Wallula Gap, and the Columbia River Gorge.

[@Vulturefist]

Thanks for a great history lesson! Seriously, this becomes very interesting because of how it’s presented. Well done people! Like and sub coming up and I’m looking forward to watching all the stuff on this channel. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@Vulturefist]

Can’t really shake the picture of that kid in the casket though... 😥

[@jamesslittle]

That was awesome.

[@iPatttKerdsiri]

Great work !

[@Lauren-fl8mc]

Great video!

[@rickpedia6724]

The History channel went to hell. You guys are informed and informative. These are the links I can send to my grand kids. Good job you guys, thank you!

[@prot0type90]

Great video guys!

[@richardmoramarco6754]

In high school I had a calif history class and our book had a story and a picture of the dam after it broke, the tombstone. Was my favorite class in school.back in the early seventies.

[@murrayaronson3753]

The bill establishing the national memorial has passed both houses of Congress and is now on President Trump's desk awaiting his signature.

[@richardbinder9662]

I lived in Newhall, which is in Santa Clarita. It's kinda of aways out from the city. Used to ride my motorcycle out there. Tragic story.

[@Hunter42392]

Wow awesome video thanks for sharing!

[@angelpadilla5472]

LOVE IT!!! great episode and very informative you guys are awesome. my only question is how come you guys don't have a space on Discovery channel or something?

[@davefour-real1615]

Good presentation. Thank you from UK. .

[@andyfletcher3561]

Nice video! I know San Fransiquito Canyon road very well. In the early 70's I caught many wild Rainbow trout in the creek. Once upon a time those roads weren't barricaded but some folks are fools and do the things fools do.

[@ponyhorton4295]

The reason the road is barricaded now is simply because it's been abandoned since the new highway was completed. I used to park right ON the dam remains all the time.

[@andyfletcher3561]

@@ponyhorton4295 ...I used to live in Lake Elizabeth and drove the canyon for work for years. been gone for 18 years. Did they re-do the road?

[@ponyhorton4295]

Andy Fletcher Yeah, after the 2005 flood. Remember how there was an uncompleted highway running behind the wing dike? It's been completed.

[@andyfletcher3561]

@@ponyhorton4295 ...No :o( I left in 2001 lol. Guess I'm gonna have to look at google maps see what's changed. Thanks

[@billdougan4022]

Nice video. Question about the color photo @8:10. Color slide film wasn't available until 1935-6. Just curious, but the photo looks original. Was it hand colored or colored with Photoshop. Thanks.

[@agm6095]

Your most interesting video, thank you.

[@tracynation239]

An excellent video. ♡ T.E.N.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Read “Cadillac Desert” by Marc Reisner about Mulholland and his failed dam

[@garattyfisher]

Mulholland was an amazing man who brought water to the masses and allowed LA to grow to what it is today. His mistake cost human lives, but his service to LA will always be remembered. A great man who made a big mistake. Still an engineering hero.

[@ponyhorton4295]

ABSOLUTELY, and he was well-loved by those who actually KNEW him.

[@melperry3576]

what happened to the original creek?, notice there isn't water anywhere?