St. Francis Dam Tour Returns After Three-Year Hiatus

After a three-year hiatus, the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society will commemorate the 95th anniversary of the second-worst disaster in California history by bringing back its popular St. Francis Dam lecture and bus tour/hike at the dam site on Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets for the event are $50 and may be purchased on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-annual-st-francis-dam-disaster-lecture-and-bus-tour-tickets-92661209171.
The tour will begin at 11 a.m. with a short presentation on the history of the dam in Room 258 of the University Center at College of the Canyons. After the presentation, busses will take participants into San Francisquito Canyon, narrating at important points of interest to the disaster.
It is recommended that long pants, long-sleeved shirts and athletic shoes or hiking boots be worn for the hike, as well as a hat and sunscreen. Water and a snack will be provided. The hike will include the tombstone ruins, the pyramid formation, and other remaining blocks of the dam. Masks are recommended, but not required, for all indoor and transportation portions of the tour.
Funds raised will benefit programs of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society at the Santa Clarita History Center. This tour sells out every year, so advance purchase at the link provided is strongly recommended.
Alan Pollack is President of the SCV Historical Society and President of the St. Francis Dam National Memorial Foundation. He has been featured on Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum.”
Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is Vice President/Executive Director of the St. Francis Dam National Memorial Foundation. Both she and Pollack were leaders in creating and promoting the legislation leading to the National Memorial and National Monument in 2019.
Frank Rock is well known as “The Dam Man.” He conducted the Society’s St. Francis Dam tour from 1990 to 2015, as well as for private geology and archeology groups. He has appeared on the History Channel, Discovery, and the BBC.
Ann Stansell is Associate State Archaeologist at California State Parks and, as part of her master’s thesis, came up with the most accurate list to date of the casualties of the St. Francis Dam Disaster.