Anchor Park - Texas City, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 23.576 W 094° 53.565
15R E 316330 N 3253009
A small (2 acres) city park by the seawall of Texas City, Texas. It was dedicated to display an anchor of the SS Grandcamp, a commercial vessel which exploded in 1947 and resulted in one of the worst industrial accidents in US History.
Waymark Code: WMWT8N
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2017
Views: 4
Located on the corner of Bay St and Texas City Dike St, Anchor Park is a 2-acre historical and recreational park dedicated in 1962 to commemorate the Texas City Disaster, one of the worst industrial accidents in US History.
On April 16, 1947, the "SS Grandcamp", a commercial vessel, was moored at the Texas City terminal docks located near this park, loaded with approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate. Another ship, the "SS High Flyer", was about 600 feet (200 m) away from the Grandcamp and contained an additional 961 tons of ammonium nitrate and 1,800 tons of sulfur. A mid-morning fire and detonation ensued on the Grandcamp, killing at least 567 people in the surrounding Texas City area. Burning wreckage ignited everything within miles, including dozens of oil storage tanks and chemical tanks.
One of the Grandcamp's main anchors, weighing 5 tons, was hurled 1/2 mile by the resulting explosion towards the entrance of the Texas City Dike; it now rests on a Texas shaped memorial at Anchor Park.
The park's amenities include a gazebo, two picnic pavilions, tables, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, a children's amphitheater, and a large assembly of handicap-accessible playground equipment.
Name: Anchor Park
Street Location: Bay Street and Dike Road
Local Municipality: Texas City
State/Province, etc.: TX
Country: USA
Web Site: [Web Link]
Memorial/Commemoration: Anchor of the SS Grandcamp
Date Established: 1962
Picnic Facilities: 1 gazebo, 2 picnic pavilions, tables, barbecue pits
Recreational Facilities:
* handicap-accessible playground
* volleyball courts
* horseshoe pits
* children's amphitheater
Monuments/Statues: SS Grandcamp anchor
Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): "Safehaven", a sculpture by Jane Dedecker
Fountains: N/A
Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: near Texas City wetland area
Special Events: N/A
Traditional Geocaches:
none
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