Minnesota Then
On an unseasonably warm Thursday, September 7, 1876, one of the most daring bank robbery attempts in Minnesota history occurred in broad daylight on the streets of Northfield. The infamous James-Younger gang, a group of outlaws who had terrorized stagecoaches, banks, and trains across the Midwest since the Civil War, had come to town. Led by Jesse James and Cole Younger, the eight-man crew included Frank James, Jim and Bob Younger, McClelland "Clell" Miller, Bill Chadwell, and Charlie Pitts.
The gang entered Northfield in multiple groups. The first three riders—Frank James, Charlie Pitts, and Bob Younger—rode up Division Street, hitched their horses in front of the bank, and walked to the corner. They sat on some dry goods boxes and chatted with locals to avoid suspicion. Two other riders, Clell Miller and Cole Younger, approached from the south—their arrival signaling the original group to enter the bank. The remaining gang members positioned themselves to watch the escape route in Mill Square.
At just before 2 PM, the first group entered the First National Bank of Northfield intent on robbery. Inside, they confronted the bank's employees: bookkeeper Frank Wilcox, teller Alonzo Bunker, and acting cashier Joseph Lee Heywood. With weapons drawn, they demanded Heywood open the safe containing $15,000. Unknown to the robbers, the safe was actually unlocked during business hours, though it appeared secured. Heywood first claimed it was on a timer, then flatly refused to comply despite being struck with a pistol butt and having his throat cut with a knife.
Cole Younger and Miller positioned themselves outside the bank to prevent interference during the raid. Their plan unraveled due to an unforeseen circumstance. As Clell Miller dismounted to close the bank's front door, local hardware merchant J.S. Allen, who had made a deposit earlier in the day, approached and witnessed the chaotic scene inside. Miller pointed his revolver at Allen and ordered him to stay quiet, but Allen broke away, shouting, 'Get your guns, boys! They're robbing the bank!'
With their cover blown, the gang rode up and down the streets, firing pistols to scare away curious onlookers. Allen's cry had alerted nearby citizens like Henry Wheeler and Anselm Manning, who grabbed whatever guns they could find and began shooting at the outlaws. Perched in an upper-level window across the street, Wheeler fatally shot Clell Miller. Meanwhile, on the street below, Manning fired repeatedly at Bill Chadwell with his Remington repeater rifle, inflicting fatal injuries. Townsperson Nicolaus Gustafson, a Swedish immigrant who had arrived only months prior, was caught in the crossfire and mortally wounded. He died several days later.
Inside, Heywood continued his brave resistance, refusing to open what appeared to be a locked safe. The robbers fired a warning shot over his head, but Heywood would not yield. Teller Bunker attempted to escape through the rear door but was shot in the shoulder. He managed to reach the doctor's office and survived to provide an eyewitness account of the raid.
As the street battle intensified outside, Bob Younger and Charlie Pitts abandoned the safe and grabbed what little cash they could find on the counter. Enraged by the failed robbery, Frank James paused long enough to turn back to the defiant Heywood and fatally shoot him in the head.
The gang retreated, leaving the $15,000 in the bank's safe and the bodies of two dead members—Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell—behind. They escaped town at 2:07 PM with only $26.70 in loose change. A posse formed immediately, and for the next two weeks hundreds of volunteers combed southern Minnesota searching for the outlaws.
During the manhunt, Jesse and Frank James escaped capture and returned to Missouri, abandoning Charlie Pitts and the Younger Brothers. The James brothers would deny they'd ever been to Minnesota for the rest of their lives. On September 20, 1876, the four remaining gang members were surrounded by a posse at Hanksa Slough, near Madelia. Charlie Pitts was killed in the ensuing shootout. The three Younger Brothers were captured, pleaded guilty to the murder of Joseph Lee Heywood, and sentenced to life in Stillwater prison.