Wrightsville Fire: The 1959 Arkansas Reform School Tragedy

On March 5, 1959, a fire engulfed a padlocked dormitory at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Arkansas. Sixty-nine Black teenagers were locked inside with no staff available to unlock the doors. The underfunded, segregated facility held boys for minor offenses or orphan status. Conditions were deplorable, with mesh-covered windows and ragged clothing. The blaze killed 21 youths aged 13 to 17, while 48 others escaped. No one was ever charged and the cause remains undetermined. Survivors dubbed the event the “Wrightsville Massacre” or “secret holocaust.” Fourteen victims were buried in unmarked mass graves. A memorial honoring the 21 boys was unveiled in April 2019 on the site now occupied by the Arkansas Department of Correction. Advocates and historians continue to document this tragedy in research and the book Black Boys Burning.

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