View source for Richmond, Indiana explosion

{{About|the 1968 explosion|the 2012 explosion|Richmond Hill explosion}}
{{Infobox News event
|image=
|caption=
|date= {{start-date|April 6, 1968}} 
|time= 1:47PM [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
|place= Downtown [[Richmond, Indiana]]
|suspects=
|casualties1= 41 killed
|casualties2= 150+ injured
|casualties3=
|notes=
}}

The '''Richmond, Indiana, explosion''' was a double explosion which occurred at 1:47 PM [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] on Saturday, April 6, 1968, in downtown [[Richmond, Indiana]]. The explosions killed 41 people and injured more than 150. The primary explosion was due to natural gas leaking from one or more faulty transmission lines under the Marting Arms sporting goods store, located on the southeast corner of the intersection of 6th and Main ([[US 40 (IN)|US 40]]) streets. A secondary explosion was caused by gunpowder stored inside the building. Gas had been smelled leaking in the area for days before the explosion, and local stores would open doors to allow the fumes to ventilate out and leave buildings.
[[Image:US-IN-Richmond.png|thumb|200px|right|Location of Richmond in the state of Indiana]]

==Cause==
The explosion was due to a gas leak from a cast iron gas main which exploded outside Marting Arms. The pipe, which had become perforated as a result of corrosion, belonged to the Richmond Gas Corporation.<ref name=bernardi>{{cite web|last=Bernardi|first=Chris|title=gas company held liable for blast|url=http://extra.pal-item.com/explosion/Explosion/Blame.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130233849/http://extra.pal-item.com/explosion/Explosion/Blame.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 January 2013|work=Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN)|accessdate=19 October 2012}}</ref>  It was uncertain what precisely had ignited the gunpowder, owing to the damage caused by the explosion and fire.  A U.S. Bureau of Mines report found that just days before the explosion the Richmond Gas Corporation had found 55 gas leaks in its pipes, 7 of which were “exceptionally large...creating hazardous conditions.” The gas company had found a smaller leak between Marting Arms and Vigran's Variety Store. The perforated pipe was removed by gas company workers during the post-explosion cleanup, but the gas company refused to allow bureau investigators to examine it. The corporation eventually provided the pipe for examination upon the order of the [[Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission|Indiana Public Service Commission]]. Safety checks after the explosion found 20 gas leaks in the city in the next 2 months, although some of these may have been caused by the explosion.<ref name=bernardi/>

==Lawsuits and fate of Richmond Gas Corporation==
Three hundred ninety-seven lawsuits were filed against Richmond Gas Corporation, the City of Richmond, and Marting Arms pursuant to the explosion, but only one on behalf of decedent Blaine Scott Reeves made it to trial. The gas company was found solely liable by a jury in [[Connersville, Indiana]] where the case had been tried after the company requested a change of venue. It appealed the verdict based on alleged trial errors and on its claim that the award of $250,000 was excessive. On October 1, 1973, the First District Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled against the gas company and upheld the verdict.<ref>{{cite web |title=Richmond Gas Corporation v. Reeves |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/1973/671a114-5.html |website=law.justia.com |accessdate=21 July 2019}}</ref> The corporation settled the remaining lawsuits for a reported $5 to $10 million.

In 1990 Richmond Gas Corporation was acquired by [[CenterPoint Energy|Indiana Energy, Inc.]]<!--- Indiana Energy, Inc. merged into [[Vectren]] in 2000, which merged into [[CenterPoint Energy]] in 2019 --->

==Aftermath==
Twenty buildings in and near the site of the explosion were condemned as a result of the explosions. Ultimately, Main Street ([[U.S. Route 40 in Indiana|US 40]]) through downtown Richmond was closed to traffic and a downtown Promenade was built in 1972 (later expanded in 1978). This five-block pedestrian mall was converted to allow the street to be reopened to traffic 29 years after the explosion, in 1997, as part of an urban revitalization effort. Since 1972, US 40 has been re-routed to by-pass Main Street through downtown Richmond.

On the day of the explosion, the [[King assassination riots|ongoing nationwide riots]], resulting from the [[assassination of Martin Luther King]] two days earlier, overshadowed the Richmond loss of life from 'something preventable'. Many people have attested that the aftermath brought together the townspeople to work together and overcome their grief and rebuild.

The 1968 Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act, [[Act of Congress|Pub.L.]] 90–481<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Natural%20Gas%20Pipeline%20Safety%20Act%20of%201968.pdf |title=Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 |date=1968-08-12 |work=[[90th United States Congress]] |access-date=2020-09-02}}</ref> enacted into law on August 12 of that year, imposed tougher federal regulations on the gas network as a response to the disaster.<ref name=bernardi/>

==Memorials==
[[File:Death in a sunny street monument.jpg|thumb|Monument honoring those who died in the April 6, 1968 explosion.]]
A simple curved brick memorial honoring those lost in the tragedy, who ranged in age from 8 to 72-years-old, was erected in the downtown, with metal lettering:
''In memory of the forty-one persons who lost their lives in the tragic downtown explosion April 6, 1968, and with everlasting gratitude to those who helped give rebirth to this city''.  The memorial stands at the south-west corner of South Fifth and Main Streets on the grounds of the Wayne County Courthouse annex.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering the Explosion that Rocked Richmond: A 50 Year Anniversary |url=https://visitrichmond.org/visitors/welcome/blog/remembering-explosion-rocked-richmond-50-year-anniversary |website=visitrichmond.org |publisher=Wayne County IN Convention and Visitors Bureau |accessdate=21 July 2019 |date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, on the 50th anniversary of the explosion, a stone monument honoring those who died in the explosion was dedicated, and it resides at the [[Wayne County Historical Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Monument unveiled 50 years after deadly Richmond explosions |url=https://www.apnews.com/a8cb876dec36453c9f362e6d75ff0e0d |website=apnews.com |accessdate=21 July 2019 |date=April 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Nick McGill |title=New memorial honors victims of Richmond explosions |url=https://fox59.com/2018/04/06/new-memorial-honors-victims-of-richmond-explosions/ |website=fox59.com |publisher=WXIN |accessdate=21 July 2019 |date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

==Those who died in the explosion==
{{columns-list|colwidth=14em|
*John Abraham, 15
*Hayes (Pete) Bennett, 42
*J. Thomas Boyce, 33
*Violet Loraine Byrum, 44
*Eunice Clevenger, 42
*Nora Coffman, 59
*Pamela Davis, 18
*Bruce Eckenrode, 60
*Marguerite Eckenrode, 51
*Roy L. Fyeburger, 72
*Jeffrey Douglas Gabbard, 7
*Laura Pearl Gabbard, 28
*David Lee Gibbs, 18
*Raymond Gilmore, 24
*Linnie Gregg, 39
*Mary Grove, 39
*Diane Johnson, 19
*Kelly Kirkland, 8
*Robin Kirkland, 11
*Virginia Kirkland, 38
*Anges Lefforge, 62
*Debbie Louise Lunsford, 13
*Donald L. Marting, 39
*Louise Marting, 36
*Ruth Ann Nelson, 28
*Shirley McLemore, 26
*Greg Harold Oler, 21
*Charles Otte, 59
*Lelah Otte, 61
*Elaine Pettit, 14
*Blaine Reeves, Sr., 25
*Alvin Rice, 50
*Mary Ella Roan, 50
*Imogene Ross, 39
*Joseph Slattery, 64
*Catherine Smith, 44
*Audrey Teaford, 53
*Thomas Toler, 16
*James M. Trimble, 42
*Evonda Kay Twine, 13
*Rose Vigran, 72<ref>{{cite book |author1=Esther Kellner |title=Death in a Sunny Street : The Civil Defense Story of the Richmond, Indiana Disaster, April 6, 1968 |publisher=Warfel, Inc. |page=123 |edition=1975 reprint}}</ref>}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/fulltext/id/1981 ''Death in a Sunny Street: The Civil Defense story of the Richmond, Indiana disaster, April 6, 1968''] by [[Esther Kellner]] (online library collection)
*[http://extra.pal-item.com/explosion Palladium Item Special Edition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the explosion.]

{{coord|39.829067|-84.893986|display=title|type:event}}

[[Category:Explosions in 1968]]
[[Category:Industrial fires and explosions in the United States]]
[[Category:Gas explosions in the United States]]
[[Category:Disasters in Indiana]]
[[Category:Richmond, Indiana]]
[[Category:1968 in Indiana]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 40]]
[[Category:April 1968 events]]