Dancing Bear Cottage combined with Murder & Bank Robbery in Richmond

 

Dancing Bear Cottage, Corder, Missouri

Outside of Kansas City, lodgings were sparse. I found this lovely airbnb in Corder, Missouri. The cottage is rustic and cozy on a beautiful property filled with lots of animals. Peacocks, Hammie the pig, cats, geese, chickens and horses all greeted me. This was a highlight of the trip. It's exhausting driving to four or five sites each day and locating suitable filming locations. The towns start to blur together. These were the last two days of good weather, before it rained the rest of the trip. 

 

Dancing Farm Cottage, Pond view at sunset

Dancing Farm Cottage, Pond view at sunset

May 23rd, 1867 Twelve Members of the James-Younger Gang robbed the Hughes & Wasson Bank of Richmond, Missouri, making off with $4000. Three Men were shot and killed. 

an article in the New York Herald, May 24, 1867

Some highlights from the 1881 Ray County history book account of the robbery. 

"Four of the party entered the bank with pistols presented, demanding the money therein. The other six remained outside and kept up a continuous fire upon citizens who dared show themselves on the streets." 

"The robber who remained on his horse took a stand in the middle of the street. He was mounted on a very fine and well-trained horse. Having wound the bridle-reins around the bow of his saddle in such a manner as to give greater tension to one rein than to the other, the horse continued to move around in a circle, thus enabling his rider to see about him in every direction."

That last section cracked me up. Lots of detail about the horse. What about the robbery??

Frank Griffin who is the hero albeit dead hero of the story was firing upon the gunman with the finely trained horse. When the gunman "discovered Griffin's head from behind the tree, he fired at it with unerring aim. The ball penetrated the brain and Griffin instantly expired."

No specific details are given about the three folks that were shot by the James brothers. 

View from courthouse, former bank site

view of courthouse, former bank site

statue of soldier on courthouse lawn

The town celebrates every year with outlaw days where they recreate the James Gang robbery. 

Last year, one of the re-enactors was hit with a blank in the leg. In a Kansas City newspaper article, "An ambulance took the performer to a Kansas City area hospital for treatment of a moderate leg injury, Carter said. No one else was injured. The rest of the fall festival’s activities continued as scheduled." 

This year all activities are cancelled due to covid19. 

my hair offering on the courthouse lawn