July 21rst: Today in 1873 the James/Younger gang pulls off what is thought to be the first train robbery in the American West. They derailed the train, killing the driver, and robbed the baggage train. Interestingly they were apparently dressed in full Ku Klux Klan garb, something I had missed reading about this before.

As a sidenote, while looking for references for this one I ran across Roadside America site which tells about the sites in Adair, Iowa including the spot of the first train robbery and the famous smiley face water tower, but it also shows you what is in Algona, Iowa, yes it is the world’s largest Chee-to.

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