Finding Minnesota: Northfield honors bloody, all-hands defeat of Jesse James' gang
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State Fair may be fast approaching, but after that's done a Rice County town will have a pretty big festival of their own. Northfield has been celebrating its famous defeat of Jesse James for 75 years, in honor of the residents who saved the city.
"I go somewhere and people ask, 'Where are you from?' 'Northfield.' One of the first things that most people say, 'Oh, the Defeat of Jesse James Days,'" resident Galen Malecha said.
Nearly every Minnesota town has a celebration centered around parties and pageantry. But Northfield may be the only one that honors the defeat of a famous American outlaw. This will be the 75th year they've re-enacted their victory. They even have video of the first re-enactment in 1948.
Tim Freeland was born and raised in Northfield and began going to the re-enactments at a young age. At one point he was an actor in the event. Today he's the emcee, which means he has to know the history of the raiders and the residents.
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"I said to my dad, 'I want to be the guy that tells the story.' So, from a young age I had my eye on being the announcer," Freeland said, explaining the history of the event. "One of their gang members, Bill Chadwell, was originally from Minnesota. And he talked the guys into coming here because he said, 'Hey, these are gonna be immigrants, farmers, merchants. These Scandinavians are gonna roll over."
But Chadwell guessed wrong, and it cost him his life. On Sept. 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang arrived, after mostly robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches in the south.
"Just after 2 o'clock, three of the eight gang members come in through this door here into the bank," Freeland said.
They jumped over the counter and became violent with the three employees on duty, especially bank teller Joseph Lee Heywood, who wouldn't give them the combination to the safe. At one point Heywood even took matters into his own hands.
"Heywood, and he is a hero, tries to shut that vault door on Charlie Pitts to lock him in," Freeland said.
Jesse James' brother Frank eventually shot and killed Heywood after being denied more than $15,000 inside the vault, equivalent to half a million dollars today.
"It gives me goosebumps to think these are the floorboards and Heywood was killed right here. And he died and his blood is in this wood," said Freeland.
The safe, the vault, the clock, and pretty much everything else inside the bank, are originals from that day.
"Meanwhile, it's insane on the street. They're yelling, 'Get out here! Get out here boys, they're shooting us up," said Freeland.
Businessman J.S. Allen sounded the first alarm by telling people to get their guns. Henry Wheeler, a medical student, grabbed a Civil War rifle and ran to the third floor of a hotel. From there he shot and killed outlaw Clell Miller. Another businessman, Anselm Manning, shot and killed Chadwell. At that point, it seemed like the entire town was involved.
"If they didn't have guns, they were using rocks," said Malecha.
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Swedish immigrant Nicolaus Gustafson also died in the shootout, and so did a horse belonging to one of the outlaws. The robbers fled and the victory by the Northfielders marked the beginning of the end for Jesse James and his gang.
"Cole Younger says, later in life, that when they were in Northfield on Division Street, it was Hell's Gallery," said Freeland.
The James-Younger gang only made off with about $26 that day.
"If they got the money from the bank, you know, the school district, the churches, the merchants, the farmers, the colleges, they would have been defunded. They would have lost. They would have gone bankrupt," said Malecha.
Which is why they celebrate today. A lot of people believe the real hero is Joseph Lee Heywood, the teller who refused to give up the vault.
"He knew if that money was gone, what it meant for his friends, family, and his town," said Freeland.
This year's festival will take place Sept. 6-10. Generations of families have taken part in the re-enactment. For more information on the Defeat of Jesse James Days, click here.
