St. Francis Dam Disaster Site of 1928

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History Hunters visits the site of the St. Francis Dam in the San Francisquito Canyon north of Los Angeles which collapsed in March 1928 and sent floodwaters cascading down the gully, killing at least 450 residents. Jeff will tell about the disaster in great detail and check out at least one major piece of the dam still left.

#stfrancisdam #flooddisaster #losangeleswater
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I grew up in Fillmore Ca....One day back in the early 70's my Dad came in from work ( he serviced irrigation systems for some of the citrus farms in the area and mentioned that they had discovered some human remains when some laborers had been clearing away some brush.

If I remember correctly, Dad said that the area was 50-75 yards from the bank of the Santa Clara River bed.

Odds are, the remains were of someone who was swept away by this disaster.

RIP to all who lost their lives.

davidtucker
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Another amazing video. It continues to astound me how much California State History is NOT taught in schools. How can I, a life long resident with a college degree, have never even heard about this event? So much missing history... but Jeff is hunting it all down for all of us who basically missed out. Thanks Jeff!!

jasonsmith
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When I talked about all the St Francis Dam victims not always being acknowledged or counted. I refer back to the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, where the city and state constantly maintained for decades that the dead never exceeded 700. An enterprising and curious San Francisco City historian found files with thousands of letters requesting info on family members or friends who disappeared after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. After spending years painstakingly pursuing and cross referencing information, she was able to convincingly prove that the number actually exceeded 3, 000 plus dead. She was even able to supply names for many of the dead, who were either buried in mass graves or their bodies were destroyed during the fires that took down most of the city, that the earthquake didn't already destroyed. The city originally ignored her findings until it got into the papers and suddenly she was a city hero.

marks
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I am 74 and my mom grew up in various towns in the Los Angeles area. I remember her talking about both the St Francis dam disaster as well as the big quake in Long Beach. She was born in 1918.

constancewessel
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This was such an interesting episode. All my kids were born in Ventura when we were stationed there for 5 years and I had heard about this disaster but never knew the details. Thank for the thorough research.

WalkwithHistory
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This is fascinating, me and my buddy partied in San Francisquito canyon in the early 2000s when we were living in Velencia. We wondered what all the random chunks of concrete were about. Didn't know it was the location of such a mega disaster. Thanks for the info!!

wolfpack
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I just realized that my grandfather lived in Oxnard during this time but he never talked about it. I wish I could talk to him now. Thanks for the connection to history that should be remembered.

scobun
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I loved Aden's reaction to Jeff asking him why he didn't get out to see the dam site; "The damn site." This was a perfect ending to this old debacle from the last century. I lived in Long Beach, CA from 1957 to 1976 and had ridden through that area and never knew what had taken place. Thanks Jeff and others here on YouTube for bringing this disaster to light.

CameronMcCreary
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Born and raised in So Cal and I never heard of this disaster. Thank you Jeff, another great history lesson.

lornahardin
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Just found your channel...great stuff. Drove that canyon twice a day for 9 years not knowning that I was driving through history. Thank you for your effort.

GregRutkowski
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Such an unbelievable story! How amazing Mulholland took the blame without hesitation! You won't find that today! Thanks for the CA history lesson, history isn't boring by any means, but the things you show and all makes it even more exciting! Thank you for that!

christinedelman
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👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 this 1 made me cry. Jeff, thank you for enduring foxtails, crawling through shrubs & putting up with the heat. You are appreciated. XO Paula

tonypadilla
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I'm 66yrs old and can remember my grandmother telling me stories about this tragic flood.

kurtporter
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The canyon road used to go right through the old dam site on the west side of the creek. About 18 years or so ago, a bridge just south of the dam got washed out. They never repaired it. If you drive past pump station 2 you can park where the road ends. From there you can walk the old road with weeds and trees growing up though the cracks...it’s a spooky walk!!!

ubroberts
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I grew up in Oak View and Ventura in the 50’s. As a young kid I didn’t realize all the impact of it but heard many stories. After a time in the service I returned to Ventura a few times did some off roading motorcycle throughout the Santa Clara river basin seeing still some of damage remnants. In 1969 there were torrential rains causing lots of damage the Ventura river was rampaging I lived at the time along Ventura Ave just past where the newer freeway to Ojai ended. After a week of nonstop rains (10 inches) a feeder creek leading across the high clogged the drainage and sent flooding waters seeking alternate ways to the Ventura river about a half mile from the house I rented. My parents lived in a mob lol home park in Casitis jump a few miles further up the highway and had been evacuated just hours before and came to my house. Then the rushing waters rose and two foot of water burst my front door open and we had to get out also. We survived luckily but lost most everything. The house I lived in was on the corner of a short street and actually served as a buffer for all the others on the street causing the water to flow down the street and throughout some orchards to the river sparing much damage to the other homes. It was a very scary venture I’ll never forget. I have a few stories about it all.

james
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Thank you for the episode. Not a clue this happened and I'm glad you made this short film.

rodcrisostomo
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I look forward to every Sunday for a new offering from you. Thank you so much for all the history of California. I was born in Orange, Ca, and taught school in Santa Ana for some 30 years. My favorite subject to teach my students was California history !!! Thanks again for all you and Sarah do !!!

drghg
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Such a sad loss of life. One cannot imagine. RIP all those poor people, and thanks for enlightening us once again, Jeff.
God bless🙏

thesolidsnakealpha
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I grew up in Santa Paula and heard of this terrible tragedy. My 5th grade teacher was a child when this happened and I remember her telling us about how her father woke her up in in the early hours after the dam broke. She said they hurried to get to higher ground and away from the Santa Clara River area. Great video!! Thank you!

cvguerrero
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Fascinating story. I hadn’t heard of this before. What a tragedy and loss of so many people. I liked that you showed pictures of some of the victims. They need to be remembered. It adds a personal touch to see the faces of those affected.

PS - totally off topic, but this is the first YouTube video I’ve watched and heard the phrase “ Foxtails in My Socks “ .

Julie-msss