1937 – The New London School explosion in New London, Texas, kills 300 people, mostly children. The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed the London School in New London, Texas, United States. The disaster killed 295 students and teachers. As of 2021, the event is the third-deadliest disaster in the history of Texas, after the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1947 Texas City disaster. In the mid-1930s, despite the ongoing economic turmoil of the Great Depression, the school district in New London, Texas (formerly known as London) was one of the richest in the United States. The 1930 discovery of oil in Rusk County had boosted the local economy, and education spending grew with it. The city's taxable value in 1937 had grown to $20 million, with additional revenue seen from 15 oil wells on district property. The London School, a large structure of steel and concrete, was constructed in 1932 at a cost of $1 million (roughly $23.6 million today). Its football team, the London Wildcats (a play on the term "wildcatter", for an oil prospector), played in one of the first stadiums in the state to have electric lights. The London 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. 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. 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 length of the main school building's facade. Students had been complaining of headaches for some time, but little attention had been paid to the issue. On March 18, 1937, first through fourth grade students were let out early; the following day's classes had been canceled to allow students to participate in the Interscholastic Meet, a scholastic and athletic competition, in neighboring Henderson. A PTA meeting was being held in the gymnasium, a separate structure roughly 100 feet from the main building. Approximately 500 students and 40 teachers were in the main building at the time, although some numbers claim there were roughly 694 students in the main building and at the campus. At 3:17 p.m., Lemmie R. Butler, 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. Walter Cronkite also found himself in New London on one of his first assignments for United Press International. Although Cronkite went on to cover World War II and the Nuremberg trials, he was quoted as saying decades later, "I did nothing in my studies nor in my life to prepare me for a story of the magnitude of that New London tragedy, nor has any story since that awful day equaled it."
