Last Hurrah of the James-Younger Gang

So small it had only one bank, so quiet no citizens carried guns. Hard—working, peaceful Northfield, Minnesota, was an orderly yet busy mill town in the heart of prosperous farm country. On a serene autumn Tuesday in 1876, local shopkeepers, farmers, and citizenry went about their normal routines, little realizing that the infamous and deadly James—Younger gang had designs on tiny Northfield.

The experienced robbers planned to target the single bank, which held the hard—earned money of the t...