Whether you’ve seen a bank robbery or not, you know they’re pretty tense events. This place in small town Kansas commemorates when two banks were simultaneously robbed at gunpoint. Have you heard the story or seen the museum about the craziest bank robbery in Kansas’ gang history? If not, now’s a great time to take a look.

Welcome to the Dalton Defenders Museum, where a battle between the Dalton Gang and two separate banks is memorialized.
Melinda Montano/Google
The Dalton's had been robbing all sorts of places, but this was supposed to be their biggest score yet.
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr
It's known as one of the most famous bank robberies in the whole country, but the story is much more insane if you think about the time period. On October 5th, 1892, their plan was to disguise themselves with fake hair and clothing, and then two of them would take the First National Bank, while the other three headed into the adjacent Condon Bank.
Unfortunately, someone recognized the faces behind the fake facial hair, and warned everyone what might be coming.
Dalton Defenders Days Facebook
A good portion of the townspeople waited for the ensuing robbery with their weapons, prepared for a shootout.

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They lost the fight, as well as their lives, as seen by this photo of their bodies laid out.
Frank Lee/Google
Four of the five ended up dead, at the end of it all. The fifth, Emmett, sustained 23 gunshot wounds and spent the next 14 years in a jail cell in Lansing.
These defenders were immortalized with their own museum, and have since become a local legend that brings people to this place every year.
Frank Lee/Google
They sometimes even do reenactments of the event, bringing people together in their community with a piece of history that's cool enough to never be forgotten.
Why not come out for a bit and explore this town drenched in both gang history and local artifacts?
Corey Whitworth/Google
The Dalton Defenders Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

The Dalton Defenders Museum is located at 113 E 8th St., Coffeyville, KS, and the Perkins building is located at 807 Walnut, Coffeyville, KS.

If you love seeing old history of Kansas, you’ll love these vintage ads that are from around the state as well.

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