NEW LONDON SCHOOL , TEXAS ,GAS ACCIDENT OVER 500 DIED 1937 MARCH 18

NEW LONDON SCHOOL ,

TEXAS ,GAS ACCIDENT OVER 500 DIED 1937 MARCH 18

In the mid-1930s, the Great Depression was in full swing, but the London school district was one of the richest in America. A 1930 oil find in Rusk County had boosted the local economy and educational spending grew with it. The London School, a large structure of steel and concrete, was constructed in 1932 at a cost of $1 million (roughly $17.6 million today[2]). The London Wildcats (a play on the term "wildcatter", for an oil prospector) played football in the first stadium in the state to have electric lights.[citation needed]
London School before the explosion

The school was built on sloping ground and a large air space was enclosed beneath the structure. The school board had overridden the original architect's plans for a boiler and steam distribution system, instead opting to install 72 gas heaters throughout the building.[3]

Early in 1937, the school board canceled their natural gas contract and had plumbers install a tap into Parade Gasoline Company's residue gas line to save money. This practice—while not explicitly authorized by local oil companies—was widespread in the area. The natural gas extracted with the oil was considered a waste product and was flared off. As there was no value to the natural gas, the oil companies turned a blind eye. This "raw" or "wet" gas varied in quality from day to day, even from hour to hour.[4]

Untreated natural gas is both odorless and colorless, so leaks are difficult to detect and may go unnoticed. Gas had been leaking from the residue line tap and built up inside the enclosed crawlspace that ran the entire 253-foot (77 m) length of the building's facade. Students had been complaining of headaches for some time, but little attention had been paid to the issue.[5]

March 18 was a Thursday. Friday's classes were canceled to allow students to participate in the neighboring city of Henderson's Interscholastic Meet, a scholastic and athletic competition. Following the school's normal schedule, first through fourth grade students had been let out early. A PTA meeting was being held in the gymnasium, a separate structure roughly 100 feet (30 m) from the main building.
Explosion

At some time between 3:05 and 3:20 p.m., Limmie R. Butler[6] (an "instructor of manual training") turned on an electric sander. It is believed that the sander's switch caused a spark that ignited the gas-air mixture.

Reports from witnesses state that the walls of the school bulged, the roof lifted from the building and then crashed back down, and the main wing of the structure collapsed. The force of the explosion was so great that a two-ton concrete block was thrown clear off the building and crushed a 1936 Chevrolet parked 200 feet away. Approximately 500 students and 40 teachers were in the building at the time.[7]

DEATH STUDENTS

The memorial cenotaph is inscribed with the names of known victims. They are:[20]
Abercrombie, Boyd Adams, Evelyn Allman, Almita Fae Anderson, Allene Myrtle Anderson, Lillian Laverne Apple, Betty Ruth Arnold, Wayne S.
Barber, Ollie B. Barber, Arden Leon Barrett, Donald Barrett, Edward Barrett, Pauline Barton, Laverne T. Barton, Murvin
Baucum, Margaret Louise Bell, Miss Laura Bennett, Mary Francis Benson, Betty Lou Bishop, Nellene Blackerby, John Blackford, Neal
Blanton, Virginia Rose Bonner, George A. Bonner, Oneta Bowlin, Byron Braden, Sybil Dell Brown, Bobbie Lorene Brown, Elaine
Bunting, Naomi Butler, L. R. Buzbee, John Robert Byrom, Owen Carney, Mary Prescilla Carr, Chloe Ann Cuvelier, Jacqueline

Childress, William Polk Choate, Murray Dixon Clair, Mildred Louise Clark, Mary Lynn Clover, Byron Coker, Forest Cole, Helen
Colins, Charles Rusk Jr. Corrie, Kenneth Cox, Perry Lee Crim, Annie Bell Crumbley, Jimmie Cummins, Marcella Curry, Zana Jo
Damuth, Jane Davidson, Annie Laurie Davidson, Ardyth Davidson, Helen Davidson, Joe Wheeler Davis June Davis, Kenneth Wayne
Dearing, Dorothy Ann Dial, Travis Dickerson, Wanda Joyce Dorsey, Alice Dorsey, Ethel Drake, Winifred Melvine Duncan, James Alfred
Duncan, Vera Virginia (Sue) Eakes, Forest Eugene Ellison, Holly Jo Elrod, Edwin Zone Elrod, Juanita Emberling, George Emberling, Wanda
Etheredge, Doris N. Fealy, James P. Fentress, Jack Ford, Jack Arnold Ford, Mary Elizabeth Forman, Mary Ellen Francis, Emaloyd
Francis, Margine Freeman, Myrtle Frey, Carl H. Jr. Gandy, Martha Jean Gauthreaux, Eddie Herman Gerdes, Allen T. Gerdes, Alvin H.
Gibson, Marcelyn, Carol Gipson, G. W. Goff, R. A. Jr. Gordon, Betty Kathryn Gordon, Joe C. Greer, Paul Grigg, Edwin Guinn,
Gunn, H. D. Hale, Norris Thurston Hall, Irene Hall, Oscar G. Jr. Hamilton, Carl Jr. Hankins, Francis Hanna, Lorene
Hardy, Leneta Fae Hargis, Martha Jane Harrelson, Coy Dee Harrelson, Helen Louise Harris, James Hasbrook, Charles Hathaway, Y. Jackolene
Henson, Graham K. Harrington, Betty Joe Harrington, Mary Ellen Herron, Juanita Hodges, Betty Jo Hodges, Irma Elizabeth Hodges, Betty Jo
Hogue, Ernestine Hogue, Margretta Holland, Bessie Estelle Holleyman, Betty Catherine Holt, Jessie Elinor Hooten, Mary Frances Houser, Laura Lee
Houser, Imogene Houser, Martha Ellen Howard, Tom Hudson, Elisha M. Hudson, Hurbert Hughes, Melba Hunt, Charles Porter
Hunt, Ruby Frances Jacobs, Maxine Johnson, Kenneth Jolly, Geneva Lucille Jones, Fidelia Jones, Goodall Jones, Helen C.

Kelly Maudine Ketchum, William Kilgore, Cloudell King, Mary Lois Knight, Jaqueline Knipe, Earnest Ray Knotts, Rachel Mae
Krauss, Bobby Lee Lambert, Robert Austin Latham Homer Latham, W. D. Lechtenberg, Anna May Lechtenberg, Helen Lee, Florence Ruby
Lee, Laura Lehew, Mary Ellen Lloyd, Arzell Lloyd, Mary Emily Loe, Virginia Lowe, Helen Charlotte Lumpkin, John
Maddry, J. E. Maddry, Mazine Manck, Doris Martin, Louise Maxwell, Blondell Maxwell, Charles Henry Maxwell, Louise
Mayhew, Evelyn McChesny, Donald Robert McClure, Vincent Howard McCune, Lanny McGovney, Jack McGovney, James McLawchlin, W. C.
McQuaid, Shirley Lataine Meadow, Floyd Jr. Melton, Doris Kay Middleton, Arlis Ray Miller, Carroll Evaughn Miller, Sebe Mills, Sarah Jane
Milstead, Annie Marie Monday, Alma Moore, Dessie Lometer Morfield, Billie J. Mote, Marion Mote, Patty Ann Myers, Margie Louise
Myers, Shirley Elizabeth Nail, John Worthley Neal, Mrs. Mary Ethel Nelson, Mrs. J.D. Netherton, Aubry, Lee Newell, Orrin, Neal Newham, Jackie
Norton, Betty Mozell Norton, Vesta Allen O'Neal, Charles O'Neal, Raymond B. Patterson, Marie Payne, Joyce Payne, Lewis M.
Peace, Edna Ruby Person, Forest Lavon Petty, James Ray Phillips, James Henry Phillips, Twillia Ruth Phillips, Virgil B. Pierson, Hazel Marie
Pinkerton, Harvey Platt, Ola Christene Powell, Edna E. Powell, Eloise Phillips, Roseann Pride, Garland Propes, J. H.
Purcell, Annie Ragsdale, Gabe E. Rainwater, Aubrey Rainwater, Evelyn Rainwater, Helen Ray, Delores Reames, Curtis Burton
Reed, Ruby E. Rhodes, James Basel Richardson, Dorothy Rider, Betty Jane Rider, Charles Oliver Roberts, Billy Roberts, R. B.
Roberts, Holten Dean Roberts, Norma Wayne Roberts, Ruth Rogers, Annie Maxwell Rogers, Thomas Blanton Rowell, Louise Rucker, Ester Fay
Sallee, Robert Henry Salyer, Robert Basil Scott, David Willard Scott, Earl Jefferson Sevens, Maudine Shaw, Clifton Sambo Shaw, Dorothy Oleta
Shaw, Marvin Shaw, Sammie Shoemaker, Robert W. Shoemate, Sammie Smith, Abner Smith, Bobbie Jean Smith, Iva Jo

Smith, Mattie Mae Smith, Willien Ruth Smith, Ross Jr. Smoot, Anna Maude Smoot, Helen Sowell, William Edward Staggs, Carl
Starks, Marshall Stearnes, Geraldine Steele, Henry Lee Stephens, Philo Stone, Howard Stubblefield, A. W. Sutherlin, Glendell
Swift, Lawrence Tate, W. H. Tatum, J. R. Jr. Taylor, Charles Ray Thiebaud, Marjorie Thompson, Milder Thompson, Walter
Tipp, Billie Travis, Unknown Travis, Unknown Van Haverbeke, Rose Vines, Mary E. Waggoner, Anna Belle Walker, Herman L.
Walker, Mary Inez Walker, Moreene Waller, Louis Warren, Florine Watkins, Annie Louise Watson, Katie Mae Webb, Mary Jo
Wells, Doris White, Dorothy Joyce Williams, Aubry Williams, Doris Dean Williams, Erma Jean Willis, Lucille Willis, Mary Lou
Womack, Bernice Wood, Glenn Wooley, Malcolm Wortham, S. Jack Wyche, Doris York, Dale May Young, Mozell