New London school explosion
An aerial view of the New London school explosion. Source: NLSE.orgThe New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when the ignition of a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the Consolidated High School of the city of New London, Texas. The explosion killed approximately 298 of the 500 students and forty teachers in the building, making it the worst disaster to occur in a U.S. school building. Subsequent deaths of people injured in the explosion brought the death count to about 311. The exact death toll remains uncertain due to the large transient population that was common in the Texas oil and gas fields.
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