New London School Explosion
Posted by: Tygress
N 32° 14.357 W 094° 56.490
15S E 317077 N 3568612
On March 18, 1937, a massive explosion destroyed the New London Jr-Sr High School, instantly killing an est 296 students & teachers. Within weeks, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring an odor to be added to natural gas to make it detectable.
Waymark Code: WMKXWW
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/10/2014
Views: 19
New London, Texas, was known as the richest independent school district in the United States. Due to its oil wealth, the district constructed a state-of-the-art school to house grades K-11.
On March 18, 1937 students were preparing for an Inter-scholastic meet in Henderson. At 3:17 p.m. an instructor in the shop class turned on a sanding machine which sparked, igniting accumulated natural gas from a leak in a crawl space beneath the school. In an instant, a good part of the building disintegrated in an explosion that could be heard for miles. Almost 300 students and teachers died in the blast.
Experts from the United States Bureau of Mines concluded that the connection to the residue gas line was faulty. The connection had allowed gas to leak into the school, and since natural gas is invisible and odorless, the leak went unnoticed. To reduce the damage of future leaks, within weeks of the explosion the Texas Legislature began mandating that thiols (mercaptans) be added to natural gas. The strong odor of many thiols makes leaks quickly detectable. The practice quickly spread worldwide.
A cenotaph of Texas pink granite was designed by Donald S. Nelson, architect, and executed by Herring Coe, Sculptor. Erected in 1939, it can be found on the median of Texas State Highway 42. Engraved on the stones facing the cenotaph are the names of the known victims by school grade.
MORE READING:
Official New London School site (
visit link)
Many vintage photos on Lana Bird's site (
visit link)
wikipedia New London School Explosion (
visit link)