St. Francis Dam Disaster papers: Finding Aid mssHM 70397-70408
Finding aid prepared by Xiaofei Wang, October 20, 2008.
The Huntington Library
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Note
Last updated by Brooke M. Black in April 2024.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: St. Francis Dam Disaster Papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 70397-70408
Physical Description:
2.4 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1928-1929
Abstract: Collection of material related to the St. Francis Dam collapse in Los Angeles County, California, in March 1928.
Language of Material: English.
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Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. St. Francis Dam Disaster papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Most of the papers were a gift of R. G. Cleland, February 1944. One item, "Report of Joint Committee on Personal Property
Damage (HM 70408)," was the gift of Judge Peirson M. Hall, December 6, 1944.
Biographical Note
From 1924 to 1926, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power built the St. Francis Dam in the San Francisquito Canyon
to help provide water for the city. However, the dam collapsed in the night between March 12 and 13, 1928. The flood travelled
south through San Francisquito Canyon, turned west to the Santa Clara River, and destroyed parts of several towns and cities
in Ventura and Los Angeles counties including Santa Paula City before it reached the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of people were
killed, homes became debris, agricultural plants in the field were washed away, and the value of land in the flooded area
drastically decreased. The county and city governments, with the help of personnel from the state and federal agencies, established
several committees to investigate the cause of the dam's failure, to provide material support for the survivors, and to compensate
for the loss caused by the disaster. The Red Cross, the American Legion, and many individuals joined the relief efforts.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of 12 notebooks with documents including correspondence, meetings minutes, press releases, photographs,
and reports about the St. Francis dam collapse in Los Angeles County, California. The collection contains 12 folders; the
largest folder has 223 pages, while the smallest has only 21. As the original arrangement of the papers has been kept, most
folders contain documents related either to one of the government-established committees or to some non-governmental organizations.
The papers document, in detail, how various governmental committees and non-governmental organizations worked together for
the disaster's relief and compensation. It also deals with the conflicts between the Los Angeles city government and the Red
Cross on some relief issues, the legal aspects of Los Angeles city government's relief efforts, and the investigation of the
causes of the dam's failure. Among others, Charles C. Teague, mayor of the City of Santa Paula, participated in the decision
making process of the disaster's relief and investigation and he is an author in the collection.
Subjects and participants in the collection include: American Legion, American Society of Civil Engineers, Lansing H. Beach,
California State Board of Health, California Dept. of Finance, California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Institution of
Washington, California attorneys, H. T. Cory, Bertram Hanford Crocheron, District attorneys, David Christian Henny, Louis
C. Hill, Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power, Los Angeles Mayor, Los Angeles Police Dept., Los
Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles City Attorney, Los Angeles times, C. E. Grunsky, George D. Louderback, Elwood Mead,
Mexicans in California, Newhall Land and Farming Company, Red Cross and Red Crescent, Southern California Edison Company,
Union Oil Company of California, United States Dept. of Agriculture, University of California College of Agriculture, Bailey
Willis, Harry O. Wood, and Clement Calhoun Young.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
City attorneys -- California
Public prosecutors -- California
Mexicans -- California
Saint Francis Dam Disaster, Saint Francis Dam, Calif., 1928.
Saint Francis Dam (Calif.)
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Minutes -- California -- 20th century
Official reports -- California -- 20th century
Photographs -- California -- 20th century
Press releases -- California -- 20th century
Beach, Lansing H. (Lansing Hoskins), 1860-1945
Cory, H. T. (Harry Thomas), b. 1870
Crocheron, Bertram Hanford, 1882-
Grunsky, Carl Ewald, 1855-1934
Henny, David Christian, 1860-1935
Hill, Louis C. (Louis Clarence), 1865-1938
Louderback, George D. (George Davis), 1874-1957
Mead, Elwood, 1858-1936
Teague, Charles Collins, 1873-1942
Willis, Bailey, 1857-1949
Wood, Harry O. (Harry Oscar), 1879-1958
Young, Clement Calhoun, 1869-
American Legion.
American Society of Civil Engineers.
California State Board of Health.
California. Dept. of Finance.
California Institute of Technology.
Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Los Angeles (Calif.). City Council.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Dept. of Water and Power.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Office of the Mayor.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Police Dept.
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Los Angeles Times (Firm)
Newhall Land and Farming Company
Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Southern California Edison Company
Union Oil Company of California.
United States. Dept. of Agriculture.
University of California (1868-1952). College of Agriculture.
Box 1
Engineers reports, photographs, etc.
Box 1, Folder 1
Notebook: Red Cross and American Legion (1928). 98 pages. HM 70397
Box 1, Folder 2
Notebook: Home Claims and Reconstruction (1928). 21 pages. HM 70398
Box 1, Folder 3
Notebook: Minutes of Los Angeles and Ventura County Joint Committee Meetings (1928). 41 pages. HM 70399
Box 1, Folder 4
Notebook: Press Releases, Statements, Preliminary Estimates of Damage and Bulletins Issued (1928). 73 pages. HM 70400
Box 1, Folder 5
Notebook: Land & Improvements Joint Committee (1928). 178 pages. HM 70401
Box 1, Folder 6
Notebook: Report of Committee Appointed by the City Council of Los Angeles to Investigate and Report the Cause of the Failure
of the St. Francis Dam (1928). 116 pages.
HM 70402
Box 2
Reports of investigating committees, etc.
Box 2, Folder 1
Notebook: Engineering Reports on Failure of the St. Francis Dam (1928). 223 pages. HM 70403
Box 2, Folder 2
Notebook: Photographs (Mar. 13, 1928). 21 pages. HM 70404
Box 2, Folder 3
Notebook: River Hazard Negotiations & Work (1928-1929). 48 pages. HM 70405
Box 2, Folder 4
Notebook: Death Claims Committee (1928). 24 pages. HM 70406
Box 2, Folder 5
Notebook: History of the St. Francis Dam Disaster (1929). 72 pages. HM 70407
Box 2, Folder 6
Notebook: Report of Joint Committee on Personal Property Damage (1929). 59 pages. HM 70408
