Report to Arizona Gov. March 5, 1964 Phillips Ranch in San Francisquito Canyon. The Phillips Ranch was located at GPS coordinates 3434'02.6"N 11828'04.8"W (34.567390, -118.468002) in Baird Canyon, an offshoot of San Francisquito Canyon, 4.4 road miles north of Stator Lane (the LADWP Powerhouse 2 community) on the southeast side of San Francisquito Canyon Road. 1929 - Fox Newsreel: Setting Charges to Blow Up the Tombstone, Wing Dyke OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Built over the course of two years, between 1924 and 1926, the dam was planned and engineered by William Mulholland, the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply. CG2801 - St. Francis Dam Disaster, Photos shot March 13, 1928 (10 Views). White House Tales of Scandal & Intrigue. At 11:57pm on March 12, 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, and the resulting flood took the lives of at least 431 people. To email Customer Service : 29354 San Francisquito Canyon Rd, Saugus, CA 91390 | Zillow Tensions died down into winter, and the dam was refilled to within one foot of its spillway levels by February of 1928. JB2801 - Power House No. LW2944 - Ruins of St. Francis Dam (Wing Dyke & Tombstone), View Into Reservoir, 1928-29. Two semi-trucks jam San Francisquito Canyon Road WF2800 - St. Francis Dam Disaster, 6 Contemporary Photo Postcards Including Generators, 1928. HB2802 - Visiting the "Tombstone," March 1928. Ft. 28619 Apricot Pl, Saugus, CA 91390. Sellout Crowd Revisits 1928 Tragedy Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel, SCVHistory.com 3-12-2016. St. Francis Dam - Santa Clarita, California - Atlas Obscura Even when the dam was filled almost to maximum capacity throughout 1927, the amount of water leaking from the dam was considered insignificant. LW2986 - People Stand on Footbridge Over Forebay, 1926-1928. Construction proceeded uneventfully, and water began filling the dam in March of 1926. "Gladys said it was very popular for quite a while, having a pool, a restaurant, an aviary, a shooting range, deer and quail hunting, horse back riding and far enough away to limit uninvited law enforcement.". It wasn't until 1:20 a.m. that the first official warning sounded, while the deluge of water, dirt and debris oozed downhill to the Pacific Ocean at around 18 mph.