ELLIOTT MUSEUM Presents
Rare Artifacts in
Notorious Ashley Gang Exhibit By Doreen Marcial Poreba Photos provided by the Historical Society of Martin County.
Bank Robbery Dressed as a woman
T
his is a story of survival, crime, and corruption — on both sides of the law. The Elliott Museum has created an exhibit showcasing rare and unseen artifacts related to the infamous, Stuart-based Ashley Gang, outlaws from the early 1900s. The “Notorious Ashley Gang—The Making of a Legend,” is a permanent exhibit featuring various artifacts and photos that depict their lives of crime. Plenty of research went into the creation of the exhibit by the Elliott’s curator, Linda Geary, and local historian Steve Carr, who wants to “level the playing field” when it comes to telling the Ashley story.
Old Bank Building Patriarch Joe Ashley and his wife, Lugenia, lived in Fruita between Stuart and Hobe Sound. They raised five boys and four girls on their family homestead and were well respected in the community. Living during prohibition and the Great Depression, the family expanded its business enterprises to make and sell moonshine. “People didn’t have options back then, there were no social safety nets,” said Carr. “They weren’t going to watch their children starve, so they began producing alcohol.” The Ashley boys also engaged in the dangerous endeavor of rum
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running from the Bahamas. This put them on the wrong side of the law with Palm Beach County Sheriff Bob Baker, which at that time included the territory that later became Martin County. According to Carr, the Ashley family was community minded, employing African Americans with well-paying jobs. On the flip side, Sheriff Baker was deeply entrenched in the Klu Klux Klan and did not want the Black community to become affluent. “At that time, there was corruption in law enforcement, courts, railroad, banking … everything around them,” said Carr. “This was the community
