1931: Counterfeiting at Jamesport Sends 2 to Leavenworth Prison
Two men from Jamesport, MO, Frank Marshall and Robert Miller, were given jail sentences after pleading guilty in federal court on a scheme concocted while they were in the Livingston County Jail at Chillicothe, MO, in 1931. A conspiracy to make counterfeit coins was...
1931: Mob Burns Shike Smith to His Death Atop School House
One of the worst hate crimes ever recorded in Northwest Missouri history happened in Maryville, MO. This newspaper caption appeared on a Gallatin newspaper reporting the crime on Jan. 15, 1931: “Negro Murderer Taken and Burned” At that time, a mob of...
Five Significant Daviess County Bank Robberies Summarized
A quick study of cases where Daviess County banks were “subject to withdrawals without proper paperwork” reveals five significant incidents. In chronological order, here’s a summary of the county’s most significant bank robberies, according to...
1929: $8,000 Bank Robbery at the Pattonsburg Savings Bank
The Pattonsburg Savings Bank was robbed by two young men from Kansas City in December, 1929. Over $8,000 in cash was taken. The two highwaymen started southward in a Chevrolet sedan with several hundred armed men in pursuit. The getaway car skidded into a ditch near...
As Banks Fail, Temptations Mount Leading to Crimes
During the times of yesteryear, more people and more businesses in Daviss County meant more banks — and more temptations for illegal gain, especially as hard times caused bank failures. Here are two examples, occurring nearly 25 years apart, where wrongdoing...
1926: Carlow Tabbed as ‘Booze Capitol’ of Daviess County, MO
Daviess County Sheriff B.B. Houghton and Sheriff Deputy Novia Doak, accompanied by several others, captured two men in a Carlow booze raid in October, 1926. Five gallons of corn whiskey was seized for evidence for use in the prosecution of the men. Upon arriving at...
1923: Newton Brothers Use Nighttime Blast to Rob Gallatin Bank
Bank robbery sprees once brought Texas outlaws Willis and Joe Newton to Gallatin, MO. In 1923, the Newtons left Chicago and was headed for Kansas City when they learned about a packing house payroll being aboard a small passenger train leaving St. Joseph. This became...
1919: ‘Uncle Wes’ Robertson Shot, Becomes a ‘Newspaper Martyr’
Few events in history shook Gallatin, MO, more than when Hugh Y. Tarwater entered the office of The Gallatin Democrat on a chilly December afternoon in 1919 and fatally shot its longtime publisher, Wesley Robertson. History reveals “Uncle Wes” as the only...
1914: Preacher With a Fiery Temper Fined $75 for Assault
The trial of the Rev. O.H. Campbell of the Blake community in Daviess County, MO, who was charged with assault with intent to kill Powell New, attracted a huge crowd to the courthouse in Gallatin, MO, in 1914. Evidence and testimony assigned the circumstances to an...
Visit the 1889 Squirrel Cage Jail, located 2 blocks west of the Daviess County Courthouse in Gallatin, MO. This historic relic is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a visitors’ center — by appointment,
Trudi Burton, ph: 660.663.7342
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