[U.B.Hotch]

Here is a story that most people are unfamiliar with.. It changed the course of history and forced nationwide legislation changes because of this disaster and tragic loss of life.

In 1937 New London, Texas, in northwest Rusk County, had one of the richest rural school districts in the United States. Community residents in the East Texas oilfields were proud of the beautiful, modern, steel-framed, E-shaped school building.
On March 18 students prepared for the next day's Inter-scholastic meet in Henderson,Texas. At the gymnasium, the PTA met. At 3:17 P.M. Lemmie R. Butler, instructor of manual training, turned on a sanding machine in an area which, unknown to him, was filled with a mixture of gas and air.

The switch ignited the mixture and carried the flame into a nearly closed space beneath the building, 253 feet long and fifty-six feet wide. immediately the building seemed to lift in the air and then smashed to the ground. Walls collapsed. The roof fell in and buried its victims in a mass of brick, steel, and concrete debris.

The explosion was heard four miles away, and it hurled a two-ton concrete slab 200 feet away, where it crushed a 1936 Chevrolet. Fifteen minutes later, the news of the explosion had been relayed over telephone and Western Union lines. Frantic parents at the PTA meeting rushed to the school building. Community residents and roughnecks from the East Texas oilfield came with heavy-duty equipment. Within an hour Governor James Allred had sent the Texas Rangers and highway patrol to aid the victims.

Workers began digging through the rubble looking for victims. Floodlights were set up, and the rescue operation continued through the night as rain fell.
Within seventeen hours all victims and debris had been taken from the site. Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler canceled its elaborate dedication ceremonies to take care of the injured. The Texas Funeral Directors sent twenty-five embalmers.

Of the 500 students and forty teachers in the building, approximately 295 died. Some rescuers, students, and teachers needed psychiatric attention, and only about 130 students escaped serious injury. Those who died received individual caskets, individual graves, and religious services.







~ On a personal note: My grandparents lived one block away from the site of the accident and both my father and aunt graduated from this school district. As children growing up, my brother, sister, and I would visit their home and play at the school which was across the street. The last picture is an aerial view of the school grounds in 1941, three years after the explosion. I circled my grandparents home with a red circle. Unfortunately, their home burned to the ground in the late '80's. ~

[Nite]

Fucking fascinating. In its own way reminds me of the Aberfan mining disaster that happened in Wales

[U.B.Hotch]

Here are the pictures of students that passed away...At first, I did not understand wĥy so many of the children were buried out of state. I was told that many oilfield "roughnecks" moved to the East Texas area from out of state because of the recently discovered oil field and the surge of available and higher paying jobs. Naturally, the parents wanted their children laid to rest in family cemeteries where they were originally from...

[Arkoquisa]

Amazing post!

Love the pictures. I adore the building architecture of East Texas from the early 20th century.

Many towns in East Texas had population booms during the oil rush. Most of the people I know who have families that have been from the area had their origins in those boom bonanzas.

[William May]

They completely rebuilt the school in that short of a time? How many students were left to go to school there?

[U.B.Hotch]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

They completely rebuilt the school in that short of a time? How many students were left to go to school there?

From my understanding, the level of volunteer support was unprecedented for that time period and with that fact, they rebuilt the school in record time in under one year. There was approximately 500 people in and around the school during the time of the explosion, leaving around 205 survivors give or take.

[U.B.Hotch]

Originally Posted by Arkoquisa ↗

Amazing post!

Love the pictures. I adore the building architecture of East Texas from the early 20th century.

Many towns in East Texas had population booms during the oil rush. Most of the people I know who have families that have been from the area had their origins in those boom bonanzas.

At one point, that area was the most wealthy place to live in America. My grandfather was one such person that benefitted from the oil field expansion.The New London School was constructed at a cost of $1 million (approx $13 million in 2003 dollars). We lived in Longview for almost 10 years...

[U.B.Hotch]

As time goes by, I keep stumbling upon interesting facts, relics, and memories that add to this particular event in history...Here's a little more...

As word of the tragedy spread, a sympathetic world shared in the grief that had visited the isolated community. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt wired her sympathies, as did German dictator Adolf Hitler. A Japanese elementary class sent a telegram, expressing its sorrow. Soon a memorial fund was established and donations arrived from around the world. A Girl Scout troop in Kansas sent 25 cents it had collected. A 5-year-old Galveston girl who had been saving her pennies to purchase a doll mailed them to New London, saying she would rather they be used to memorialize the dead children. Students at the Cherbourg School in France conducted a drive and collected $9.50.

The funds helped pay for a permanent reminder of the tragedy that now stands across from the rebuilt school: a 34-foot-high, $20,000 cenotaph, carved from 120 tons of Texas granite. Engraved at its base is the name of each person who died in the blast.

Behold: The telegram from Adolf Hitler...

[Ninjavandal]

That's interesting; something that was unaware of.

[U.B.Hotch]

Just a few more photos...
Also, a present day photo...