Volume 43- No. 29
by lyle e davis It was almost 120 years ago that these events took place . . yet it’s a story that never seems to disappear. It’s part of our ‘old west tradition’ that we rather enjoy hearing and reading about. Kinda hard to imagine Coffeyville, Kansas, as being part of the ‘old west.’ Today, we view Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, as ‘midwestern’ The Paper - 760.747.7119
website:www.thecommunitypaper.com
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July 19, 2012
states . . . but 120 years ago, these were frontier towns. Lots of rough and ready souls, anxious to carve out a future for themselves and their families.
moved from Kentucky to Missouri, later to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). In 1886, they moved again to a place near Coffeyville, Kansas.
Villages, then towns, then cities were formed and grew. Along with that growth came churches, saloons, brothels . . . and banks.
In this rough and wild area, the Dalton brothers inherited a tradition of violence on the bloody ground of the Missouri -Kansas border, where Quantrill’s raiders and other guerilla bands operated during and after the Civil
The
Dalton
family
had
War. When the Oklahoma Territory opened for settlement in 1889, the family headed south again. However, Lewis died along the way leaving Adaline to raise the younger children alone. Adaline continued on, placing a claim on the banks of Kingfisher Creek in Indian Territory, where initially she and the family lived in a
“The Dalton’s Last Raid” Continued on Page 2