History corner

On April 6, 1931, the well-known outlaw and bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd orchestrated a robbery at the Mt. Zion Bank.

From the Grant County News: “A car drove up in front of the bank with two men in it. The two men got out of the car and entered the bank, one of them asked for change for a $20.00 bill.

“Carl Smith, cashier of the bank, started to count out the change when two revolvers were poked through the cage and he was ordered to lie down on the floor.

“One of the bandits tied Smith and covered his mouth with sticking plaster while the other rifled the cash drawer and safe, which was open.

“Among the loot was about $250 in gold. After securing their loot the men ran from the bank and jumped in the car. They escaped over Sherman and Mt. Zion Pike and had about 20 minutes start before Smith (Cashier) was able to extricate himself and turn on the burglar alarm.

“After they reached the Dixie Highway it was impossible to tell which way they went. A sheriff’s posse was quickly formed and started in pursuit but no trace of the bandits was found. A description of the car was given but it was indefinite.”

Little did the sheriff’s posse know but Pretty Boy Floyd and another member of his gang escaped capture by pretending to be interested in buying Charles M. Flege’s farm in Sherman (History of Grant County, Conrad).

The robbers and their wives had lunch with the unsuspecting Flege and got a tour of his farm before escaping to Cincinnati, Ohio. According to the Grant County News, Flege had no telephone and lived on a “blind road,” providing the perfect spot to hide from the searching posse.

Colton Simpson is the President of the Grant County Historical Society. You can email him at jcoltonsimpson@gmail.com.