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Bath School disaster

SOLVED1927Bath Township, Michigan, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · domestic violence · crimes against children · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of May 18, 1927, Andrew Philip Kehoe, treasurer of the Bath Township school board in Michigan, carried out a series of bombings that killed 38 people in the initial explosion at Bath Consolidated School, most of them children. Kehoe had spent much of the prior year secretly purchasing and hiding dynamite and pyrotol explosives around the school building and his own farmstead, exploiting his access as a school board member and his experience as an electrician.

Earlier that morning, Kehoe murdered his wife, Nellie Price Kehoe, whose body was later found in a wheelbarrow on the farm property. He then detonated explosives that destroyed his farmstead, killing his two horses, which had been hobbled to prevent escape. As rescuers responded to the farm fire, an alarm-clock-triggered device detonated in the school's north wing basement at approximately 8:45 a.m., collapsing part of the building and killing 38 people. As rescue efforts got underway, Kehoe drove a truck loaded with explosives and metal shrapnel to the school, summoned superintendent Emory Huyck to the vehicle, and detonated it, killing himself, Huyck, retired farmer Nelson McFarren, and 8-year-old student Cleo Clayton, who had survived the first blast. Postmaster Glenn O. Smith was mortally wounded by the truck blast and died before reaching a hospital. Searchers later discovered an additional 500 pounds of unexploded dynamite in the school's south wing, set with a timer matching the first device, indicating Kehoe had intended to destroy the entire school and everyone inside.

A coroner's inquest, which took testimony from more than 50 witnesses beginning May 23, 1927, found that Kehoe alone, without conspirators, was responsible for the deaths, and exonerated the school board and its employees of negligence. The inquest determined Kehoe had murdered Huyck and that his wife's death and the farm and school bombings were part of a single plan. A later death in August 1927 of fourth-grader Beatrice Gibbs, following surgery for injuries sustained in the blast, brought the total death toll to 45, making it the deadliest attack on an American school to date. A further death, that of Richard Fritz roughly a year later, has been attributed by some to injuries sustained in the disaster, though he is not included on many official victim lists.

Contemporary accounts attributed Kehoe's actions to anger over increased school taxes, his defeat in a 1926 township clerk election, and the pending foreclosure of his farm mortgage. The disaster prompted a national outpouring of aid, including funds from the American Red Cross, the state of Michigan, and a personal donation from U.S. Senator James J. Couzens that helped fund a replacement school building, dedicated in 1928. The site is now the James Couzens Memorial Park, and a memorial plaque listing the names of those killed was installed near the park entrance in 2002.

Key facts

Victims
Richard Fritz, Cleo Clayton, Beatrice Gibbs, Emory Huyck, Nellie Price Kehoe, Nelson McFarren, Glenn O. Smith
Date
1927
Location
Bath Township, Michigan, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1911-09-17

    Kehoe's stepmother, Frances Wilder Kehoe, was fatally burned in an oil stove explosion at the family farm; some neighbors later suspected Kehoe caused it.

  2. 1912

    Andrew Kehoe married Ellen "Nellie" Price.

  3. 1922

    Bath Township voters approved a consolidated school district and a property tax increase to fund the new school building.

  4. 1924

    Kehoe was elected as a trustee on the Bath school board.

  5. 1926-04-05

    Kehoe was defeated in the election for Bath township clerk, a public rejection locals believed motivated his later actions.

  6. 1926-06

    Kehoe was notified that foreclosure proceedings had begun on his farm's mortgage.

  7. 1926-11

    Kehoe purchased dynamite at a Lansing sporting goods store while beginning to plant explosives in the school.

  8. 1926-12

    Kehoe purchased a .30-caliber Winchester bolt-action rifle.

  9. 1927-05-16

    Nellie Kehoe was discharged from St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing.

  10. 1927-05-18

    Kehoe murdered his wife, destroyed his farm with explosives, detonated bombs at Bath Consolidated School killing 38 people, and then killed himself and four others in a truck bomb explosion at the school.

  11. 1927-05-19

    Nellie Kehoe's charred remains were found among the ruins of the farm.

  12. 1927-05-23

    The formal coroner's inquest into the deaths began, taking testimony from more than 50 witnesses.

  13. 1927-08-22

    Fourth-grader Beatrice Gibbs died following surgery for injuries from the blast, becoming the 45th and final death directly attributed to the disaster at the time.

  14. 1927-09-05

    School resumed for the community, held temporarily in the community hall, township hall, and two retail buildings.

  15. 1928-08-18

    The James Couzens Agricultural School, built to replace the damaged building, was dedicated.

  16. 1975

    The Couzens school building was demolished and the site redeveloped as James Couzens Memorial Park.

  17. 1991

    A Michigan State Historical Marker was installed at the park by the Michigan Historical Commission.

  18. 2002

    A bronze plaque bearing the names of those killed in the disaster was placed near the park entrance.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Richard Fritz

    VICTIM

    Student injured in the explosion who died about a year later of myocarditis; his death is thought by some to be attributable to injuries from the disaster, though he is not on many official victim lists.

    citation on file

  • Cleo Clayton

    VICTIM

    8-year-old second-grade student who survived the initial school explosion but was killed by shrapnel from Kehoe's truck bomb.

    citation on file

  • Beatrice Gibbs

    VICTIM

    Fourth-grade student who died on August 22, 1927, following surgery for injuries sustained in the school explosion; her death was the 45th attributed to the disaster.

    citation on file

  • Emory Huyck

    VICTIM

    Superintendent of Bath Consolidated School, killed when Kehoe detonated his truck bomb at the school.

    citation on file

  • Nellie Price Kehoe

    VICTIM

    Andrew Kehoe's wife, murdered by him prior to the school and farm bombings; her body was found among the ruins of the farm.

    citation on file

  • Nelson McFarren

    VICTIM

    Retired farmer killed in the truck bomb explosion at the school.

    citation on file

  • Andrew Philip Kehoe

    CONVICTED

    Perpetrator identified by coroner's inquest as sole author of the bombings and murders; died by his own detonation at the scene. No criminal trial occurred due to his death, but the coroner's inquest jury formally found he alone murdered 43 people including his wife, with total attributed deaths reaching 45.

    citation on file

  • Glenn O. Smith

    VICTIM

    Bath Township postmaster, mortally wounded by the truck explosion and died before reaching the hospital.

    citation on file

Places

Bath Township, Michigan, United States

42.8167, -84.4492

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On May 18, 1927, Andrew Kehoe killed his wife and destroyed his farm, then detonated explosives he had hidden under Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan, killing 38 people, mostly children, before killing himself and four others in a truck bombing at the scene.
Where did the crime happen?
Bath Township, Michigan, United States.
Who was convicted?
Andrew Philip Kehoe (Perpetrator identified by coroner's inquest as sole author of the bombings and murders; died by his own detonation at the scene. No criminal trial occurred due to his death, but the coroner's inquest jury formally found he alone murdered 43 people including his wife, with total attributed deaths reaching 45.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Bath School disasterwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govnews · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — census.govnews · census.gov · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026

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