The TNT Disaster
By the spring of 1941, the lives of several hundred people living in southern St. Charles County changed dramatically. In a matter of weeks, folks were forced to leave homes that, in some cases, their families had inhabited for multiple generations. Some people lost their livelihoods. All of these people lost their community and, to a degree, their sense of identity. The residents of Hamburg, Howell, and the surrounding area embarked on an exodus in reverse, leaving their land of promise for dozens of unfamiliar destinations. They left never to return, for their community was gone forever.
Most people who regularly drive through the woods of the August Busch and Weldon Spring Conservation Areas in southern St. Charles County give little thought to the history of the area. After all, getting to work on time and coming home as quickly as possible are generally not activities that would cause a person to consider what happened long ago in the area he is driving through. Sometimes, though, it’s hard not to notice some pretty unusual sights along the road. At the corner of Highways 94 and D sits a lonely granite monument with a rarely read inscription. Further along the road, apparently lost among trees and brush, is a cemetery full of old headstones. During the spring, hundreds of daffodils and irises bloom along a mile-long stretch of highway, making up what appears to be some sort of highway beautification project. In the midst of these flowers, five mysterious concrete steps lead from the road, up a hill, and into the woods. If a person stops his car and takes a walk into the trees, unusual discoveries continue: colorful splashes of non-native flowers are seen as far as a mile from the nearest road, old bottles rest in ravines, cisterns full of water appear like mirages deep in the forest, and crumbling building foundations seem to sprout from the ground.
2020 was the 70th anniversary of events in 1940 which ultimately led to the destruction of the villages of Hamburg and Howell and several dozen small farms in what are now the August Busch and Weldon Spring Conservation Areas. The story of what happened there is one of national defense, patriotism, sacrifice, greed, bureaucratic arrogance, and broken promises. It is a chapter in Missouri history that should never be forgotten.
To learn more about this tragedy, PICK UP A COPY OF THE CD IN OUR STORE and go to http://thetntstory.blogspot.com/.
For more information contact Mr. Bob Brail at thetntstory@gmail.com.