Bank Robbers

Let’s dive into the world of famous bank and train robbers from the past. In the early 1900’s, they gained fame for their daring heists, and sometimes their ability to evade the law. Cartoons, comic books and movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid have helped their legends grow over the last 150 years. These criminals often capture people’s imaginations and some have become folk heroes. A lot of stories about the robbers were true but some were exaggerated. Back in the day, kids played cops and robbers outside with their friends. Every kid in the neighborhood wanted to be the one on the horse trying to jump on the train. Now you can be the robber in video games and you won't fall off of your bike.

The most famous cowboy bank robber was a guy named Jesse James. He didn’t just rob banks; he also robbed trains! Imagine a guy riding horses, causing mayhem, and stealing money like it was just another day at the office. He and his gang robbed 11 banks and seven trains. Jesse and his gang were wanted by the law and posters hung everywhere. A reward, or bounty, was promised to anyone who turned him in. In the end it wasn’t a lawman who killed Jesse James, it was a member of his own gang named Robert Ford who wanted to be famous and rich from the reward.

During the 1930s, John Dillinger and his gang became so famous that they almost seemed like movie stars.  He even signed an autograph or two. Dillinger was a master of escaping from prison. He was arrested, put in jail, and escaped four different times. He was also known for being a little bit crazy. Once he stole a car from an employee of the bank. He sent the car back after a few days with a note that said, “Thanks for the ride!” Fun Fact: There were so many different wanted posters about Dillinger and his gang that people collected them and traded them like Pokemon cards. By 1934, the FBI gave the bank robber and his gang credit for killing 10 people. He was gunned down by the FBI outside a theater in Chicago after watching a movie.

Near a town named Wilburton, Oklahoma, there is a state park named Robber’s Cave State Park. Although it is now used for picnics, camping and fishing it is well known as a hideout for train robbers of the late 1800’s. Two of the most famous gangs are the Jesse James gang and the Dalton Gang. There are lots of stories about the cave that bring treasure hunters to the state park. People from all over the world visit, hoping to find the buried loot of the James Gang. Another story tells about hidden tunnels that helped gangs escape from the law. Nothing has ever been found or proven about these two claims and are now considered legends and folklore of the Wild West.