On September 7, 1876, six of the most famous outlaws in America rode their horses over an iron bridge and entered Northfield, Minnesota. All of them wore long, linen coats to hide the fact they were carrying revolvers and cartridge belts.
Jesse James, Jim Younger and Bill Stiles hitched their horses in the square, where they could cover their retreat over the bridge. From the south, two more of the gang, Cole Younger and Clell Miller, rode into town and took up position, while Frank James, Bob Younger and Charlie Pitts tied up their horses on Division Street and strolled into the First National Bank. It was 2 p.m. and the most famous bank robbery in American history was about to begin.
The clock that hung in the bank that day is still there and it still reads 2 p.m. Everything in the room is the same. When you stand on the original old floorboards and survey the bank counters and vault, you are seeing the same scene that Frank James and the other bandits saw as they came to the cashier window and drew their guns.
Welcome to Northfield, a peaceful little place in central Minnesota, an hour south of Minneapolis, that is proud of their slogan “Cows, Colleges & Contentment.” While the town wants to be known for their St. Olaf and Carleton colleges, Northfield can’t escape the notoriety of being the site of the last holdup of the James-Younger Gang. Today, they have an annual celebration in September, “The Defeat of Jesse James Day.” The Northfield Historical Society owns the Scriver Building where the robbery took place and they’ve done a splendid job of preserving it with exhibits that detail the full seven bloody minutes. There are saddles and guns that belonged to the outlaws, along with artifacts from the town’s heroes too.
When the James-Younger Gang rode into town, the former Southern Civil War guerrillas were already credited with staging the first daylight bank robbery, the first train robbery, and two dozen other daring holdups. But in Northfield, everything went wrong. Bank teller Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the vault. Ironically, it was already open, but the gang didn’t know that and they shot down Heywood in cold blood.
A merchant, J.S. Allen, saw what was happening and yelled out, “Get your guns boys. They’re robbing the bank!” With the game up, the outlaws rode up and down Division Street, shooting out windows and warning everyone to stay inside. A Swedish immigrant who didn’t speak English misunderstood what was happening and was gunned down.
Meanwhile, the townspeople armed themselves with squirrel guns, shotguns and rifles from the general store and for seven minutes, it was open bloody mayhem. While the bandits shot pistols from horseback, the townspeople took slow and deliberate aim from cover. Bang! Clel Miller took a shotgun full of birdshot to the face, but kept on firing. Bang! Cole Younger took a hit, then Bill Stills was shot dead. Clel Miller staggered into the street and took another wound, this one fatal. Bob Younger’s horse was killed, but he continued shooting on foot, coolly transferring his pistol to his left hand when his right arm was wounded.
By now, almost all of the bandits had at least one wound and decided it was time to vamoose. There were only five horses for the six desperados, so Cole Younger galloped down the street, under fire, and scooped up his brother, Bob. With rifle shots whistling around them, the bandits tore across the iron bridge and out of town.
But not for long. A posse of up to 1,000 men tailed them. Jesse and Frank James escaped to their home in Missouri, but the Youngers were all killed or captured in the manhunt and sentenced to life in prison. Jesse was eventually shot in the back by one of his gang. Frank surrendered and stood trial three times. He was always found not guilty and was the only one of the outlaws to never pay for his crimes. He lived a long life as a farmer, and even went on the show circuit late in his life with a paroled Cole Younger.
For more information: www.visitingnorthfield.com/
For more trip ideas: www.WalkingAndDrinkingBeer.com
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