The Northfield Bank Raid: Minnesotans Foil the James Younger Gang

The speaker will arrive in costume to relate an important historical event where Minnesotans, our ancestors, were key players in ending the reign of terror spread by one of the most notorious outlaw gangs in history. In late August, early September of 1876, the James-Younger Gang rode into Minnesota intent on robbing a number of prosperous banks in the southern part of the state. The gang was made up of eight and maybe nine of the most infamous desperadoes in the world of banditry. The core of the gang was made up of Jesse and Frank James, along with the three Younger brothers; Cole, Jim and Bob.

Why Minnesota? Why now? For ten years the James-Younger Gang had robbed and killed all over the mid-west with impunity, spreading a reign of terror wherever they went. The law, including the Pinkerton Agency was catching up with them. To escape the heat, the gang needed to find a new location for their criminal endeavors.

One of the gang members had, at one time, lived in Minnesota and knew that the state’s population was composed of hard-working, industrious people, many of them recent immigrants who farmed, ran businesses and put their money in banks that were “fat” with their deposits. The gang also knew that two of their old enemies from the Civil War had funds in the First National Bank in Northfield.

The gang believed that it would be a simple matter to ride into the state, into the banks and make forced withdrawals at the point their guns. They greatly underestimated the ardor and the resolve of the people of Minnesota. In the days when there was no FDIC to protect their savings, we the people of Minnesota were not about to let the James and Youngers come into our state and steal our future. The shootout that ensued would spell the end of the James-Younger Gang.

Hear and see the events of September 7, 1876 play out before you as Arn Kind brings this exciting historical event to life.

Topics eligible for all (1.5 to 5 hour) presentation lengths
  • Birth of a Our Nation: The Revolutionary War
  • The Divided Union: The American Civil War
  • The World at War: WWII
  • Minnesota’s Fabulous Firsts
  •   Topics eligible for shorter (1.5 to 3 hour) presentation lengths
  • The Viking Age
  • The French Voyageur in the Fur Trade
  • Pirates: Predators of the Sea
  • Minnesota in the American Civil War
  • The Northfield Bank Raid: Minnesotan's Foil the James-Younger Gang
  • The Great War: World War I
  • Minnesota's Wild and Woolly Prohibition Days
  • Lucky Lindy
  • The U.S.S. Ward: Minnesotan's Fire the First Shot in the Pacific War
  • D-Day, June 6, 1944: Operation Overlord
  • Liberators and The Holocaust
  • Korea: The Forgotten War 
  • Minnesota & the Vietnam War

  •   Most of the topics can be presented with an emphasis on what part Minnesota played in them.

     

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    Presentation Fees

      Presentations range from 1.5 hour to 5 hour-all day-immersion experiences. 1.5 to 3 hours is the most common length.  Presentation length can be adapted to suit your needs.

  • Short presentation (1.5 to 3 hours long) $650 plus mileage*
  • Multiple Short presentations (Same topic, one location) Multiple presentations of  the same topic, same day, for additional groups of people. $890 plus mileage* for entire day.
  • Multiple Short presentations - (Same topic, multiple locations requiring set up and take-(down) $650 per presentation plus mileage*. 
  • Full Day Presentation (5 hours long) - Full day, immersion presentations allow time for in-depth study and understanding, they are very popular  among teachers, who call them "History Field Trip days". $890 plus mileage*

  • * Mileage is calculated at the current I.R.S. rate of $0.67 per mile round-trip  from Mankato, MN (presenter’s residence) to the presentation site and back.

    Call or email to schedule your Historical Experience

    Phone: (507) 381-0898 - Email: arnkind@historicalexperiences.org