page_title: Villa Rica historical markers
section_title: Marker text
hierarchical_section_title: Villa Rica historical markers / Villa Rica Explosion / Marker text
caption_attribution_description: The Villa Rica Explosion Historical Marker
context_page_description: This is an incomplete list of historical markers in Villa Rica, a town in the U.S. state of Georgia. This list shows a mix of Georgia state, Georgia Historical Society and private markers, and is missing a number of Villa Rica Historic Preservation Commission historic markers.
context_section_description: Villa Rica Explosion
  Around 11:00 a.m. on December 5, 1957, a natural gas leak under Berry’s Pharmacy caused an explosion that destroyed four buildings and damaged several others in Villa Rica’s downtown. The explosion killed twelve and injured twenty. The tragedy highlighted the need for both an organized local emergency response unit and the use of odor in the natural gas supply.
  The civil defense unit that resulted became a model for west Georgia. Ensuing litigation placed a considerable financial burden on the city, suppressing economic development for years. In terms of injury and loss of life, the explosion remains the most catastrophic event in Carroll County history.
  2007.11 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, City of Villa Rica, and Villa Rica Downtown Development Authority 22-1
caption: Villa Rica Explosion historical marker
exif: {}