Defeat of Jesse James Days
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HISTORY DRINK & DINE SHOPPING ARTS EVERYWHERE GET FRESH RECREATION WINTER RECREATION CAMPING CITY MAP LODGING EVENTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT HOUSING & ECONOMY EDUCATION CHURCHES MEETING & GROUPS AROUND THE AREA
VISITORS CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION:
Northfield Convention & Visitors Bureau c/o Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce 19 Bridge Square, Northfield, MN 55057 507.645.5604 VisitNorthfield.com 24 Hour Visitor Center
Photo Credits: Joe Miller, Carleton College, City of Northfield, Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee, Explore Minnesota Tourism, Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Toursim, Northfield Citizens Online, City of Northfield Communications, Northfield Golf Club, Northfield Historical Society, St. Olaf College, Griff Wigley, Matt Addington, Andy Howe, Galen Malecha, Lisa Peterson, Hayes Scriven and Craig Korvela. This publication is copyrighted by the Northfield News and no content can be reproduced without permission. Northfield News 2022. Published February 2022 by the Northfield News 115 W. Fifth Street, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, 507-645-5615
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“Get your guns boys, they’re robbing the bank” 4 HISTORY
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t roughly 2:00 p.m., September 7, 1876, eight men rode into town, intent on robbing the First National Bank of Northfield. It would later be called a textbook JamesYounger bank robbery, and it began with three members of the gang entering the bank and announcing that it was a holdup. The three desperados ordered three bank employees to open the safe, but were told the vault was locked and couldn’t be opened. On the street, local citizens began to arm themselves when a merchant discovered the robbery in progress. Upon their discovery, two gang members sprang to their horses and began shooting and yelling at the townspeople to leave the street. This forced the other three robbers into the fray. The first to fall was a Swedish immigrant named Nicholas Gustafson, who remained on the street because he did not understand English. The battle lasted only seven minutes, but when it was over two robbers lay dead in the street and two more were badly wounded. Six outlaws fled south, and the largest manhunt at that time in U.S. history ensued. The Younger brothers were captured and Charlie Pitts was killed near Madelia, MN. Jesse and Frank James escaped the posse and made it to Missouri. The heroes that day included J.S. Allen, A.R. Manning, Henry Wheeler and others. But the biggest hero was Joseph Lee Heywood, who died because he would not open the bank vault and betray the trust of the bank owners and his fellow Northfield citizens. It is the extraordinary courage of these townspeople that we honor on the weekend after Labor Day each year during Defeat of Jesse James Days.
