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Santa Paula lecture recalls Thornton Edwards’ role in the Saint Francis Dam collapse
Summary
A Santa Paula presenter screened a short documentary and answered audience questions about Thornton Edwards — a silent-film actor turned motorcycle officer credited with warning residents before the Saint Francis Dam collapsed on March 12, 1928 — and about local memorials and artifacts, including a recovered bravery medal.
Speaker 1 screened a 15-minute documentary, "Thornton's Wild Ride," and led a public Q&A on Thornton Edwards and the 1928 Saint Francis Dam disaster. The presenter said Edwards (born George Stern Edwards in 1894) moved from a silent-film career into police work, joining the Santa Paula Police Department in 1922 and later serving as a state motor officer, a precursor to the California Highway Patrol.
The presentation emphasized Edwards’s actions during the dam collapse. "By the time the sun came up on March 13, Thornton... was being hailed as the Paul Revere of the Saint Francis" for warning residents, the narrator said. The speaker and attendees described how Edwards reportedly prioritized his family, then went door to door, and deputized local…
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