The New London School Explosion

You anxiously watch the clock as the end of the school day draws near, along with the start of the weekend. The teacher is writing a short homework assignment on the chalkboard which you quickly scribble down in one of your notebooks. You’re too busy thinking about tomorrow’s ball game and how your dad promised to show you how to make a perfect pitch when he came home from work. These thoughts  fill your head when they are suddenly ripped away by the sound of a large explosion, your body is jolted up into the air, and within moments everything goes dark. 

New London High School before the explosion. Courtesy of Texas Escapes.

New London School 

Rusk County in East Texas experienced an oil boom in the early 1900s that brought in millions of dollars worth of revenue to the region, making it one of the richest rural counties in the country. This of course also translated to millions of dollars in tax money being brought to the local government. Deciding to put this new found income to good use they built one of the most expensive schools in the country. At a cost of $1 million, over $17 million in today's money, the New London High School was built. It sat on 21 acres comprising a separate elementary school, gymnasium, and lighted football stadium, a rarity at the time. The crown jewel however was the high school itself, a large “E” shaped building made out of brick and steel that had over 500 students ranging from grades 5-11, what was considered senior at the time, and 40 teachers. No expense was spared when building and it even had a fully equipped shop in the basement with tools that would have been at home in a master carpentry shop. 

Oil wells in East Texas in the early 1900s. Courtesy of The Tyler Loop.

The school had a contract with the Union Gas company to supply natural gas to the buildings at a cost of around $300 a month. In early 1937 the school board decided to cancel this contract and instead tap into a nearby pipeline of residue gas (also known as casinghead gas) to supply their needs. When oil is extracted from the ground natural gas usually comes with it, most oil companies at this time saw it as a waste product and flared it off. Many in the region tapped into these lines to heat and light their home for free. While companies usually did not give express permission for residents to do so they did not necessarily forebay the practice either. Some sources say that the school board did obtain permission from the Parade Gasoline Company, the owner of the line, and some say the company merely tolerated it. Regardless, the school hired a plumber to connect the line to the school and use the free gas for all their needs. It was a cost saving measure that would soon cost much more than they ever bargained for. 

A pipeline being installed early 1900s. Courtesy of About Pipelines.

Disaster

On Friday March 18, 1937 at 3:17 P.M. there were just minutes left in the school day when a huge explosion erupted from within the building. The roof leaped into the air before crashing back down, walls collapsed, wood beams and steel girders went flying, a two ton slab of concrete was thrown 200 feet away and crushed a ‘36 Chevy! The eruption could be felt over four miles away. 50 PTA mothers who had been watching a dance recital in one of the nearby buildings rushed out to a scene of horror as the building had been utterly destroyed. Rescue efforts began immediately as parents and other citizens who heard and felt the blast rushed to the scene and began a frantic search of the still smoking rubble. One man was even seen running from a nearby oilfield with tools still in hand. 

A concrete slab smashed into the side of a car. Courtesy of KTRE 9 news.

Joint efforts were made all across the region as they began to recover bodies. Makeshift morgues were set up wherever they could, churches, garages, and even a nearby roller rink took them in. Soon these began to fill up and they had to start transporting them to nearby morgues in Overton and Henderson. A bread truck driver passing by saw the trouble they were having and stopped and threw all of his goods to the ground so that he could help transport bodies. The Texas Funeral Directors quickly organized and sent 25 embalmers to help the morgues handle the sudden influx. Hospitals were filled with those that might still be saved, the newly constructed Mother Francis Hospital was set to have an elaborate opening ceremony that day but canceled so they could take in the injured. Word of the disaster spread quickly over phone and telegraph lines, and within an hour of the explosion the Governor of Texas sent Texas Rangers and highway patrolmen to help with the recovery efforts. He even declared martial law to regulate traffic and try and stop those that were attempting to capitalize on the disaster. Equipment from the oil fields was quickly brought in to remove debris and over 1,500 oil workers tirelessly labored to clear the sight. Because of the concerted effort it only took 17 hours for them to remove all the debris and recover the bodies. 

Spotlights illuminating the scene. Courtesy of the New London Museum.

Around nightfall reporters from larger news agencies began to show up and a 36 hour long continuous radio report began, one of the longest continual reportings ever at the time. Walter Kronkite was one of the first reporters to arrive on the scene. It was dark and rainy by that point and large spotlights had been brought in from the oilfields so that work could continue throughout the night. In his book A Reporter’s Life Cronkite describes the scene, “Huge floodlights from the oilfields illuminated a great pile of rubble at which men and women tore with their bare hands.” This was the first major story Cronkite covered, being only 22 at the time, and he would later go on to say that nothing could have prepared him for what he saw and that no tragedy that he covered ever equalled the awfulness of that day. As news of the disaster spread across the country, and across the world, messages of condolence began to pour in from governors, senators, and other heads of state from all over the globe. Even Adolf Hitler sent a telegram expressing his sorrow for their loss. 

Workers surround the exploded building. Courtesy of Marco Lichte.

However these messages meant little to the inconsolable parents who now had the grief stricken task of going through the morgues, lifting the delicate white sheets, and trying to identify the half charred and mangled bodies. They searched for any sort of mark that would help them find their child. One mother was only able to identify her ten-year-old daughter because she was playing dress-up the night before and had colored her toenails red with a crayon. Many families lost more than one child and in the confusion of the rescue efforts it was hard to be certain which were dead and which had been taken to one of the nearby hospitals. For some there would be nothing left to identify, the explosion blew some apart so violently that there were just pieces left. As the searchers went through the rubble they collected these chunks of flesh and bone fragments in peach baskets so they could later have a proper burial. For weeks after there were funerals held and an entire section of the Pleasant Hill cemetery was taken up by the children's graves. In all 298 died from the explosion, 270 students, 24 adults, and four that could not be identified as either or. Only 130 students did not face some sort of serious injury. 

People around the exploded building. Courtesy of TexasCoOpPower.

Afterward

The New London School Explosion is the deadliest school disaster in United States history. An investigation was started soon after the bodies were recovered and they found that natural gas had leaked from the underground pipeline that had been tapped into to provide free gas. The odorless and colorless gas had filled the basement and walls of the school and it was concluded that a belt sander used in the school shop class had thrown off a spark that ignited it. The state of Texas soon took measures to make natural gas safer, requiring companies to mix in a “malodorant” so that it would be easier to smell if it leaked. Other states quickly followed suit and passed similar laws. 

Charges of negligence were brought up against the school officials for tapping into the gas line, however federal investigators blamed the faulty connection and poor ventilation for the explosion and the case was dismissed. Over 70 lawsuits were filed by dozens of families and leveled against the school district, but they were all dismissed. No one was ever held liable for the disaster and no fines were ever brought against the gas company or the school officials. 

A section of the New London Community Museum with a chalkboard that had been found while clearing debris from the school. Courtesy of Bruce Wells.

In 1939 a granite cenotaph monument was dedicated to those who perished in the explosion. A 20-ton block of Texas granite held in the air by two granite columns, the block has a scene of 12 life-size children going to school, bringing gifts, and handing in homework to two teachers. Unfortunately the event was so traumatizing that many in the community did not want to remember the disaster and it was rarely talked about. Many of those that survived the tragedy had mental issues, mainly PTSD and anxiety. Kenneth Honeycutt who was outside when the building exploded said, "I had led a life of crime up to that point. I had snitched a few things from a grocery store across from us, and I felt that God had punished me, by causing this school to blow up. And that remained something that I truly believed, almost until I was an adult. But the effect, I still feel today." Kenneth’s aunt also went to the school and was injured in the explosion. He described her condition during and after that fateful day, “My Aunt Elson had back injuries, but the major effect on her was emotional. She lived a very anxiety-filled life from then on." Those who tried to do research for books and papers were sometimes met with open hostility as the community tried to forget the tragedy. The explosion even set back the area's oil boom as many of the workers left after the explosion, not wanting to remember those they had lost. It would not be until four decades later in 1977 when the first reunion of those who survived the explosion was held, and in 1992 New London’s Community Museum was founded by Mollie Ward. She was just 10 years old when she had survived the explosion and wanted to remember those who were lost. Today it is full of pieces from the school, newspaper clippings, and testimonies from those there that day. It is a living testimony to one of the United States’ darkest days. 

The Cenotaph placed to commemorate those lost in the explosion. Courtesy of COURTHOUSELOVER on Flickr.

Personal Thoughts 

I knew this would be sad but it turned out much sadder than I thought. Just the stories of what people did on that day in order to save lives and how quickly they came together, of course it being mostly kids made it even worse. Just not something anyone should have to experience and done all because a school board, with a lot of tax money I might add, wanted to save a dollar. It is very impressive that they cleared it all in 17 hours, I was blown away when I read that. 

Sources

Cover photo courtesy of Texas Public Radio.

https://aoghs.org/oil-almanac/new-london-texas-school-explosion/

https://time.com/5359158/new-london-school-explosion/

http://nlsd.net/index2.html

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-new-london-school-explosion/

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/oh-my-god-its-our-children/

https://www.tpr.org/post/texas-matters-80-years-after-new-london-school-explosion

https://www.npr.org/2012/04/06/150063910/75-years-later-the-day-the-town-school-exploded