(WWJ) Forty-five people were killed and 58 others injured 96 years ago when a local farmer and school board official set off dynamite at Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, about ten miles outside of Lansing, Michigan.
Today, the incident known as the Bath School disaster is still widely considered the deadliest act of school violence in U.S. history.
"He was part of the school board, he was very angry about decisions that the school board was making and spending money," Bath School Museum Committee President Susan Hagerman said about Andrew Kehoe, who served as treasurer for the board.
"He was very unhappy with the school's Superintendent, Mr. Huyck, and he decided that the best way to get back at the people was to get the children."
Kehoe planted 500 pounds of dynamite and gasoline in the basement of the school, setting a timer for it to go off the morning of May 18, 1927. A timer in another part of the school was jarred following the first blast, causing a second explosion to malfunction.
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"It's part of our past, it's our history," added Hagerman, during a live interview on WWJ Newsradio 950 on Thursday.
"And it's very important to know our history to move forward to the future. It's like, the Civil War, you know, people talk about that and that happened a long time ago and that was a terrible thing, but it's still part of the history. And it's important to keep our history alive here in Bath. We don't dwell on it, but we share information."
Kehoe also murdered his wife and set fire to his farmland before heading to the school. Shortly after the school explosion, Kehoe parked in front of the school and detonated dynamite inside his truck, killing himself, the superintendent and three others.
A vigil is being held Thursday in Bath Township to honor the victims.
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