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Coe, Herring,
Nelson, Donald,
Disaster -- Accident
Figure group
Occupation -- Education
Occupation -- Education
Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- New London
Relief
Sculpture
New London Cenotaph, (sculpture).
Artist:
Coe, Herring, 1907-1999, sculptor.
Nelson, Donald, 1907- , architect.
Title:
New London Cenotaph, (sculpture).
Dates:
1938-1939.
Medium:
Sculpture: pink Texas granite; Base: pink Texas granite.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. 32 x 8 x 5 ft.; Base: approx. 4 x 18 x 18 ft.
Inscription:
(On front and back of the monument:) "DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE/TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE/CHILDREN, TEACHERS AND VISITORS/WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE LONDON/SCHOOL DISASTER OF MARCH THE/EIGHTEENTH 1937."
Description:
Two 20-feet high, eight-sided columns support a cenotaph block which features twelve figures in relief, representing the victims of the 1937 New London school explosion. The memorial is set atop a stepped granite platform. On a beveled curb bordering the base, the names of 296 victims are recorded according to the grade they were in when they died. Steps lead up to the memorial.
Subject:
Disaster -- Accident -- Explosion
Figure group
Occupation -- Education -- Teacher
Occupation -- Education -- Student
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- New London
Relief
Sculpture
Owner:
Administered by London School Memorial Association, 302 Waskom, Henderson, Texas 75652
Located State Highway 42, New London, Texas
Remarks:
The memorial commemorates those who died in a school explosion in 1938. The $21,300 memorial was funded by school children and friends. Sometime prior to 1993 SOS! survey, the memorial was struck and damaged by a car. Gould Monument Company (Jacksonville, TN) made repairs.
IAS files contain excerpt from John R. Dulin's "Remembering Rusk County: The Heritage of Rusk County, Texas," (Curtis Media Corp. & Rusk County Genealogical Society, 1992) pg. 34-35; and articles from Henderson Daily News, Sept. 10, 1939 and March 17, 1972.
An official Texas Historical Subject Marker in front of memorial reads: NEW LONDON SCHOOL EXPLOSION/ON MARCH 18, 1937, A MASSIVE/EXPLOSION DESTROYED THE NEW/LONDON JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL,/INSTANTLY KILLING AN ESTIMATED/296 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. THE/SUBSEQUENT DEATHS OF VICTIMS FROM INJURIES/SUSTAINED THAT DAY/BROUGHT THE FINAL DEATH COUNT TO/311. THE EXPLOSION WAS BLAMED ON/A NATURAL GAS LEAK BENEATH/THE SCHOOL BUILDING. WITHIN WEEKS OF/THE DISASTER/THE TEXAS LEGISLA-/TURE PASSED A LAW REQUIRING AN/ODOR TO BE ADDED TO NATURAL GAS,/WHICH PREVIOUSLY WAS ODORLESS./THIS MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF THE EXPLOSION WAS ERECTED IN 1939./(1989).
References:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Texas survey, 1993.
Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.
Illustration:
Image on file.
Note:
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Repository:
Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number:
IAS 76009265
Copy/Holding information
Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum
Control Number
Inventory of American Sculpture
76009265
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