Charles L. Thomas
Charles L. Thomas was 15 years old and Black, one of 21 boys who died in a dormitory fire at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Pulaski County, on March 5, 1959. He was held in that dormitory when the fire broke out. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that the dormitory doors were locked from the outside. He is listed among those buried at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock. In 2019 the Arkansas Department of Correction dedicated a memorial bearing the names of the 21 boys.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). Officials attributed the death to a dormitory fire, and accounts say the dormitory doors were reportedly locked from the outside, trapping the boys inside.
Reported by: officials; news reports on the 1959 Wrightsville fire (reporters).