The History of New London, Texas

New London's modern story began with oil. In 1930, wildcatter Columbus M. 'Dad' Joiner drilled the first well of the East Texas Oil Field just a few miles from the community, and the discovery — one of the largest oil fields in the world — turned the area into a boomtown almost overnight. In 1931 Humble Oil and Refining Company moved 100 families and its district headquarters here from the Corsicana oilfield.

The oil companies brought remarkable prosperity. They provided jobs, housing, electricity, and free gas and water, and built parks and community buildings. The local school district, funded by oil-field tax revenue, became one of the wealthiest rural districts in the country — and built a large, modern consolidated school for the area's children.

On March 18, 1937, tragedy struck. The school board, seeking to save money, had earlier tapped into a residue gas line from a nearby gasoline company — a line carrying natural gas that, at the time, had no odor. Unknown to anyone, gas had leaked and accumulated in the enclosed space beneath the long school building.

Late that afternoon, an electric spark ignited the gas-and-air mixture, and the resulting explosion destroyed the school. Nearly 300 students and teachers lost their lives in what remains the deadliest school disaster in American history. The loss devastated the small community and drew the attention — and the sympathy — of the entire world, with messages of condolence arriving from around the globe.

Out of the tragedy came lasting change. The most important result was the passage of a state law requiring that a distinctive odor — a malodorant — be added to natural gas, so that leaks could be detected by smell. That requirement spread nationwide and is the reason natural gas has its familiar warning smell today, a safety measure that has saved countless lives.

The community rebuilt, and a cenotaph memorial was later raised near the school site to honor the victims. Across the highway, the London Museum — whose founding curator, Mollie Ward, was a ten-year-old survivor of the explosion — preserves photographs, newspaper clippings, condolence letters, survivor accounts, and personal artifacts so the story is never forgotten. Its soda fountain has operated continuously since 1938. Today New London is a quiet community on State Highway 42 near Kilgore, anchored by its London ISD 'Pirate' schools and its enduring, carefully kept memory.