In 1876, Jesse James’s gang tried to rob a Minnesota bank for seven minutes; 150 years later the town still has a coat, a saddle and an outlaw’s mummified ear
A seven-minute gun battle in a quiet Minnesota town helped bring down America’s most famous outlaw gang, leaving behind physical relics that are still preserved 150 years later. On 7 September 1876, the James-Younger Gang rode into Northfield, Minnesota, planning to rob the First National Bank. Instead of handing over their money, local residents fought back with pocketknives, rocks and hunting rifles. The failed raid lasted just seven minutes, leading to the largest manhunt in United States history at the time and effectively destroying the gang led by Jesse and Frank James. As reported by the Star Tribune in its Curious Minnesota series, the violent encounter left behind several historical items that are still kept in Northfield, including an outlaw’s duster coat, a leather saddle and the mummified ear of a dead gang member. The items are preserved and displayed by the Northfield Historical Society, which is located in the same building on Bridge Square where the First National Bank once operated.
Seven minutes that ended an outlaw empire
The raid began shortly before 2:00 pm when eight heavily armed outlaws, including Jesse and Frank James and Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, entered Northfield. Three gang members went inside the bank while the other five watched the streets outside. Inside, acting cashier Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the vault. He falsely told the robbers that a time lock protected the door. The gang members became angry as Heywood refused to give in. Outside, local residents realised a robbery was taking place and began firing from nearby shop windows and rooftops. Medical student Henry Wheeler shot and killed gang member Clell Miller from a second-floor window of the Dampier House hotel. Hardware store owner A.R. Manning shot Bill Stiles dead in the street. Inside the bank, one of the gang members shot and killed Heywood in frustration before the raiders escaped without any money. The entire gunfight lasted about seven minutes. “The James-Younger gang’s foiled September 7, 1876 bank robbery took seven minutes, triggered the largest manhunt in US history up to that time and launched an enduring national industry in the enjoyment and study of outlawry,” writer Karin Winegar noted in a historical commentary on the raid.
Relics left behind after the battle
Soon after the shooting, local residents collected equipment, weapons and personal belongings abandoned by the fleeing outlaws. Among the main items preserved in Northfield is a long duster coat left behind during the chaos. A heavy leather saddle was also abandoned by one of the gang members while fleeing south towards the Madelia swamps. The most unusual item is the mummified ear of gang member Charlie Pitts, who was killed two weeks later during a major shootout with a Minnesota posse in Madelia. After his death, medical workers preserved parts of his body, and his dried ear eventually became part of the historical collection documenting the end of the raid. The bank building itself is still largely intact. It includes the original vault door and a restored teller counter where Heywood made his final stand.
A town that defeated the outlaws
Frank and Jesse James managed to escape Minnesota and return to Missouri, but the rest of the gang was killed or captured. The Younger brothers, Cole, Bob and Jim, were all wounded and captured in Madelia. They later served long prison sentences at the Minnesota State Prison in Stillwater. The gang’s defeat became the defining event in Northfield’s history. Instead of hiding the violent episode, the town turned it into an annual community tradition. Every September, Northfield holds the Defeat of Jesse James Days, a festival that includes historical re-enactments of the seven-minute bank raid outside the original First National Bank building. The Northfield Historical Society continues to run the museum, attracting thousands of visitors each year who come to see the vault, the street corner where the gunfight took place and the physical relics left behind by the outlaws 150 years ago.
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