Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Historic rifle used to help thwart Northfield raid in 1876 now on display


Unlike the depictions of most westerners as cowards unwilling to face desparadoes, the real history is that armed bad men usually died young and quickly. That is what happened when the Jesse James-Younger gang attempted to hold up the bank in Northfield, Minnesota.

Northfielders and tourists alike have heard the story of how Henry Wheeler grabbed his rifle and started shooting at the James-Younger Gang to thwart the attempted robbery of the First National Bank.

This summer, the Northfield Historical Society will display that rifle — a .50 caliber Smith carbine — that is on loan from owners Gerry Groenewold and Connie Triplett. The display opened Tuesday and will run through Sept. 30.

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