CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE MEMORIALIZATION AND MEMORY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER OF 1928 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology, Public Archaeology By Ann C. Stansell August 2014 The thesis of Ann C. Stansell is approved: _____________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Rachel F. Giraudo Date _____________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Sabina Magliocco Date _____________________________________________ _______________ Dr. James E. Snead, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research project would not have been possible without the contributions of many individuals to whom I am heavily indebted. I am grateful to Dr. James E. Snead for engaging me in the subject of the St. Francis Dam Disaster and providing support by creating the Forgotten Casualties Project, arranging access to the St. Francis Dam Disaster Claims Files, and hosting the Facebook page St. Francis Dam Archaeology. I appreciate the Anthropology Department at California State University, Northridge, for hosting the Forgotten Casualties Project, faculty and staff for encouraging me to present at archaeological conferences and host annual data sharing meetings, and my committee, Dr. James E. Snead, Dr. Sabina Magliocco, and Dr. Rachel F. Giraudo, for their mentoring throughout the writing of this thesis. Thanks are due to Krystal Kissinger and Efren Martinez for researching and presenting on aspects of the disaster, as well as Julee Licon, for conducting and transcribing interviews and accompanying me to numerous libraries, museums, and cemeteries. The support of the following individuals was also integral and deserves recognition: Paul Soifer, consulting historian for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Angela Tatum, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Records Center; Charles Johnson, Ventura County Museum; Joanna Huckabee, David Peebles, Mike McIntyre, Thalia Ryder, and Darrell Vance, Angeles National Forest; Ellen Jarosz, CSUN Oviatt Special Collections Library; Martha Gentry, Fillmore Historical Museum; Jeanne Orcutt, California Oil Museum; Mary Alice Henderson, Santa Paula Historical Society; Alan Pollack, Leon Worden, Frank Rock “The Dam Man,” Tricia Putnam, Lauren Parker, Tony Newhall, and other members of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society; artist Robert Reynolds and curator/art historian Dr. Charlotte Eyerman, Los Angeles Natural History Museum; Keith and Michelle iii Buttelman, Pony Horton, Peggy Kelly, John Nichols, Don Ray, and other dam enthusiasts (dammies); Dan Kott and Gloria Moore; Jason Brice, Mokhtar “Mo” Mouray, Jeffrey Follin, and Ron Walters, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Charles Outland, Dr. Norris C. Hundley, Dr. Donald C. Jackson, Dr. J. David Rogers, and Jon Wilkman, past and present St. Francis Dam Disaster researchers; Craig Held, owner of the Cruz Azul Mexicana Scrapbook; Terry Foley, owner of the Thornton Edwards medal; Doug Basolo, manager of Bardsdale Cemetery; and Syrus Keatley, owner of Ruiz Cemetery. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the unconditional support of my husband Daniel, family, and friends. Thank you all. iv DEDICATION For the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley and the Santa Clara River Valley, in memory of the victims of the Santa Clara Flood who perished following the breaking of the St. Francis Dam. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page………………………………………………………………………..……….ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….……….iii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………….….v List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………….x List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………..xii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….......xvi Chapter I: Introduction………………………………………..………………………………1 Historical Background………………………………………………………………...3 Study Area…………………………………………………………………………….6 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………..8 Research Questions……………………………………………………………………9 Chapter II: Historical Background………………………….……………………………….14 Water Resources in the West………………………………………………………...14 Pueblo into City: Mulholland and the First Los Angeles Aqueduct…………………16 Construction of the St. Francis Dam………………………………………..…….….23 Physical Setting of the Dam and Flood Path………………………………………...26 Everything in its Path: Details of the Disaster……………………………………….29 Recovery Efforts: Care of the Survivors and Disposal of the Dead…………………36 Restoration Efforts: Citizens Committees’ and the Claims Process…………………39 Legacy..........................................................................................................................41 Chapter III: Theoretical Perspectives………………………………………………………..45 Mnemonic Communities: Identity, Memory, and Heritage as a Social Process…….46 vi Mnemonic Landscapes and Objects: Monuments, Memorials, and Memorabilia...…48 Forgetting: Out of Sight, Out of Mind……………………………………………….51 Memorialization after Disaster: Catastrophe as a Social Process……………………54 Historical Archaeologists as Heritage Practitioners…………………………………56 Chapter IV: Methodology………………………...…………………………………………62 Archival Research……………………………………………………………………62 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Records Center…….………..64 Ventura County Museum Research Library…………………………………70 Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office…….………………………….73 Los Angeles Central Library…………………………………………………74 Old Town Newhall Library……………………………………….………….76 California State University, Northridge, Oviatt Library……………………..77 Fillmore Public Library and Historical Museum…………………………….78 Santa Paula Blanchard Public Library……………………………………….79 Historical Societies and Dammies…………………………………………...81 Field Research…………………….………………………………………………….82 Monuments, Memorials, and Memorabilia ……………………….…………83 Grave Markers……………………………………………………………….84 Public Outreach………………………………………………………………………87 Research Schedule…………………………………………………………………...89 Chapter V: Data Presentation……………..………………………………………………….90 Monuments and Memorials………………………………………………………….90 Ruins of the St. Francis Dam………………………………………………...90 vii California State Landmark No. 919 Plaque………………………………….96 LADWP Memorial ………………………………..…………………………99 Forest Service Memorial……………………………………………………100 Newhall Cowboys Memorial……………………………………………….103 The Warning Monument……………………………………………………105 Grave Markers……………………………………………………………………...108 Burials within the Flood Zone………………………………….…………..108 Ruiz-Perea Cemetery……………………………………………….109 Bardsdale Cemetery……………………………...…………………110 Piru Cemetery…………………………...………………………….114 Santa Paula Cemetery………………………………………………115 Ivy Lawn Cemetery…………………….…………………………..119 Santa Clara Cemetery………………………………………………120 Burials within the Greater Los Angeles area……………………………….122 Burials throughout the United States……………………………………….125 Museum Exhibits and Memorabilia………………………………………………...125 Tesoro Adobe Historic Park Display…………………………………….…127 Saugus Community Club Plaque………………………………..………….128 San Francisquito Canyon Schoolhouse Bell……………………………..…129 Valencia Car Wash Display……………………………………………...…130 Fillmore Historical Museum Exhibit……………………………………….131 Cruz Azul Scrapbook……………………………………………………….132 California Oil Museum Exhibits……………………………………………133 viii Isensee Panorama Images…………………………………………………..135 Medals………………………………………………………………………137 Conceptual Commemorations: Postcards, Pamphlets, Poems and Songs………….138 Memorial Highway…………………………………………………………143 Folklore……………………………………………………………………..145 Chapter VI: Analysis……………………………………………………………………….148 Research Questions Revisited ……………………………………………………...148 Objects and Afterlives………………………………………………………………155 Opportunity for Comparison: Mill River, Johnstown, and Buffalo Creek Floods…156 Chapter VI: Discussion……………………………………………………………………..159 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….159 Future Research…………………………………………………………………….162 References Cited……………………………………………………………………………164 Appendix A. California Public Records Act Records Request Form………………………182 Appendix B. List of St. Francis Dam Disaster Victims…………………………………….184 Appendix C. Grave Marker Data for Cemeteries in the Flood Zone……………………….193 Appendix D. Grave Marker Data for Cemeteries in the Greater Los Angeles Area……….197 Appendix E. Grave Marker Data for Cemeteries outside of the Greater Los Angeles Area…………………………………………………………………………………………201 ix List of Tables 2.1 Legend (and translation) for Rancho San Francisco map…………………………....27 4.1 Files digitized at the LADWP Records Center from Water Services (Aqueduct) Historical Records WP 19-17 through WP 19-27………………………66 4.2 Files digitized at the LADWP Records Center from City Attorney’s Office Historical Records WP 02-41 through WP 02-80……………………………67 4.3 Information compiled for each victim……………………………………………….67 4.4 Records reviewed and selectively digitized at the Ventura County Museum……….71 4.5 Newspaper clippings and other articles from the St. Francis Dam Disaster Ephemera file digitized at the Ventura County Museum…………………………….72 4.6 Additional miscellaneous items from the St. Francis Dam Disaster Ephemera file, digitized at the Ventura County Museum....................................................................72 4.7 Records reviewed and photocopied at the Angeles National Forest Supervisors Office…………………………………….……………………………..73 4.8 Records reviewed and digitized from the California Vertical File, St. Francis Dam, at the Los Angeles Central Library………………………………..75 4.9 Records reviewed and digitized at the Old Town Newhall Library…………………76 4.10 Records reviewed and digitized at the Oviatt