The Rockville tragedy

by Debra Carbaugh Robinson

It was 1935. The United States was between The Great Depression and World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was offering the country a New Deal and new hope. In the small Potomac River town of Williamsport, MD, the students at the high school were planning a science field trip to the annual chemistry night at the University of Maryland in College Park. On the night of April 11, 1935, the students traveled after school to the college. The students and their teacher left College Park at about 11:00 PM for home. It had gotten foggy and was raining. It was an especially dark night. The school bus enroute to Williamsport was hit by a Baltimore and Ohio flyer train at a dangerous grade crossing in Rockville, MD. Fourteen Williamsport students were killed that night and there were fifteen survivors. This accident stunned the nation and led President Roosevelt to allow for funding to eliminate dangerous railroad crossings across the country. In Williamsport, the citizens moved ahead in t