|
East
Texas has had more than its share of disasters -- the Galveston
hurricane of 1900 and the industrial explosions in Texas City
in 1946 are examples -- but the day the school house in New
London blew up has a singular pathos because so many of its victims
were children.
New London
is located in Rusk
County in the oil patch. Wealth from the EasTex field enabled
its residents to erect one of the most modern school buildings in
the state. |
Now London High
School before explosion
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
By
3:05 P.M. on March 18, 1937, the school day had nearly ended. Younger
grades had been dismissed and some youngsters waited on school buses
for older students to join them for the ride home. Some students still
in the building practiced for Interscholastic League competition while
others put away materials. A PTA meeting was being held in the adjacent
gymnasium. Then industrial arts teacher Lemmie Butler turned on a
sander in his shop and a spark ignited natural gas that had leaked
from pipes under the school and been trapped in rooms throughout the
building.
The building was lifted in the explosion, then crushed into rubble.
Residents who lived four miles away heard the explosion, though they
were not alarmed at first because such noises often came from the
oil field. Those who knew what had happened quickly spread the word,
and help came. Governor James Allred sent Texas Rangers and Highway
Patrolmen to assist local law enforcement personnel. If alive, victims
were rushed to area hospitals; if not, the Texas Funeral Directors
Association sent twenty-five embalmers to help in the massive task
of preparing the nearly 300 dead for burial. |
 |
Scene of London
School Explosion
Mar. 18, 1937
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
What
had happened? To save a monthly $300 bill for natural gas usage at
the school, the school district had tapped into a gas line coming
from the field. Natural gas is odorless, so teachers and students
in the building were unaware that leaks had allowed it to become trapped
in the building. The spark from the sander ignited the gas and the
explosion destroyed the school.
However unwise, the practice of using such gas was a common one in
the area. The major positive that came from the New London School
Explosion was legislation requiring gas companies to add an odor to
their product so anyone can determine when natural gas is leaking
or not properly utilized. |
New London High
School and Cenotaph commemorating the disaster
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
New
London's
citizens built a new school and in 1939 a cenotaph was erected nearby
in memory to the students and teachers who lost their lives in the
worst single disaster East Texans ever suffered.
All Things Historical
Dec.
9-15, 2001 Column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
(Archie P. McDonald is Director of the East Texas Historical Association
and author or editor of over 20 books on Texas)
Published with permission |
New
London School Explosion Related Articles
New
London, Texas
New
London Museum by Bob Bowman
New
London School Explosion by Archie P. McDonald
Dr. Bobby H. Johnson, my long-time colleague at Stephen F. Austin
State University, has written a play based on the New London School
Explosion which occurred on March 18, 1937...
Phoenix
Bird of Texas by George Lester
"I learned that our museum guide was a survivor of that fateful
event. As she talked to us, my memory went back many years ...."
New London Area Hotels >
Kilgore
Hotels | More Hotels
|
| Books
by Archie P. McDonald - Order Here |
|
|
HOME
