June 11, 2026

Ruins of Bath Consolidated School – Bath School Explosion – May 18, 1927

Black-And-White Photo Of A Partially Collapsed Brick School Building With A Cupola On The Roof And Piles Of Boards And Bricks Covering The Ground In Front.

The broken roofline and surviving cupola of the Bath Consolidated School loom over a field of splintered lumber and brick after the May 18, 1927, bombing in Bath Township, Michigan.

School board treasurer Andrew Kehoe had planted explosives beneath the building and detonated them during the school day. Parts of the school collapsed, leaving debris piled high around the remaining walls and windows seen here.

The Bath School disaster is still remembered as the deadliest attack on a U.S. school. Modern summaries commonly report 45 deaths (including Kehoe) and 58 injured — numbers that were often reported differently in the first chaotic hours and days.

What have you heard from family stories, local history lessons or old newspaper clippings about Bath and May 1927?

#MichiganHistory #BathSchoolDisaster #ClintonCounty #LansingArea #OnThisDay

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Michaela Nolte

Michaela is a history buff and loves to export historical markers and old buildings and seeks stories about Michigan and Great Lakes history. When she is not writing, you can find her with a good book sipping wine on the beach.

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