This Unassuming Home In Minnesota Was Once Home To America's Most Wanted Criminals

St. Paul, Minnesota is secretly home to the hideout of some of America’s most wanted criminals.

Located at 1031 S. Robert Street, this unassuming white duplex once sheltered notorious gangsters Fred, Arthur, and Kate “Ma” Barker and Alvin Karpis. The Barker-Karpis gang was active in during Prohibition in the 1930s.

At this time, St. Paul was actually a magnet for gangsters due to a secret deal local Chief of Police John O’Conner had made with the criminal element. O’Conner agreed to provide protection for gangsters as long as they swore not to commit crimes within the city limits and to pay the police force for their protection.

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When they killed a sheriff in Missouri, the Barker-Karpis gang fled to St. Paul and sought out the protection of the corrupt police force. They rented the house at 1031 S. Robert Street from the Hannegraf family, who believed the gang was a normal family of musicians. The gang members became friendly with their landlords, often driving their kids to school.

Even while they were masquerading as average citizens, the Barker-Karpis gang planned and executed a bank heist in Minneapolis that netted them almost $300,000 in cash and bonds.

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Wikimedia Commons/FBI

The gangsters were only able to stay at their St. Paul abode for less than three months. One of the Hannegraf’s children spotted a wanted ad for the family in a magazine and told his mother, who drove to the police station to alert the authorities.

Unbeknownst to the Hannegrafs, the police told the gangsters about the coming raid on the little white house. When officers arrived at the duplex – a full nine hours after being alerted to the presence of these notorious criminals – the Barker-Karpis clan had already disappeared. The house was empty save for a few scattered belongings.

Today, the home is a private residence. It’s not open for tours, but you can check it out from the street.