The Richmond, Indiana, explosion was a double explosion which occurred at 1:47 PM 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 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.
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. 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 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.
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. The corporation settled the remaining lawsuits for a reported $5 to $10 million. In 1990 Richmond Gas Corporation was acquired by Indiana Energy, Inc.
Aftermath
Twenty buildings in and near the site of the explosion were condemned as a result of the explosions. Ultimately, Main Street through downtown Richmond was closed to traffic and a downtown Promenade was built in 1972. 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. At the time of the explosion the racial tension nationwide as a result of the recent assassination of Martin Luther King two days earlier, and this overshadowed the 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 PipelineSafety Act, enacted into law on August 12 of that year, imposed tougher regulations on the gas network as a response to the disaster.
Memorials
A simple curved brick memorial honoring those lost in the tragedy 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. 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.
