New London Texas Gas Explosion of 1937

In 1937 the rural New London Texas school district was considered one of the wealthiest independent school districts in the United States. However, the wealth and the beautiful and modern school building could not withstand a gas explosion that occurred on this day in 1937.

An undetected gas leak in the school had been occurring for several weeks prior to the explosion. Complaints by students and teachers of headaches suggested that the environment was compromised, but because gas in its natural state is odorless, there was nothing to indicate that the leaking gas could be a cause. Unfortunately, it was not until a spark from a sanding machine in one of the classrooms lit the gas and caused an explosion so fierce that it could be heard four miles away, did the leak become evident. The school was ripped apart by the explosion, hurtling concrete slabs several feet into the air. An estimated 293 people died in the explosion.

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