Coffeyville’s Dalton Defenders Museum

Coffeyville's Dalton Defenders Museum is filled with
memorabilia from the raid and the city's early days.

       After robbing a string of trains, members of the notorious Dalton gang decided to up the stakes. Vowing to “beat anything Jesse James ever did …”, the gang made plans to rob two banks at the same time, in the light of day. Cash in hand, they would skip the country and begin new lives in South America.

All the Dalton gang members passed away in the battle
except Emmett Dalton, who is shown in the upper left
corner of the photo.

       Their plan was not a success. On Oct. 5, 1892, brothers Grat, Bob and Emmett Dalton and fellow gang members Dick Broadwell and Bill Power tried to disguise themselves as they approached the C.M. Condon and Company Bank and the First National Bank, located on the opposite sides of a downtown street in Coffeyville. But a citizen recognized them and alerted other residents. Then a crafty bank clerk delayed the theft by fibbing that the safe was on a time lock and couldn’t be opened right away. This delay gave the locals time to prepare for a battle. The ensuing bloody shootout left four of the gang members and three Coffeyville residents dead.

       The famous Dalton gun battle and the citizens who defended the town are remembered at Coffeyville’s Dalton Defenders Museum. The museum houses a treasure trove of photos and memorabilia from the raid and Coffeyville’s early days. Looming large in the center room is the well-known photograph of the four dead Dalton gang members stretched out in an alley, while a lively lad named Ray Clark peers through the fence in an historic photo bomb. The Winchester rifle seen in the enlarged photo rests in a glass case to the side.

       Emmett Dalton, who survived the raid despite 23 gunshot wounds, is pictured at the upper left corner of the photo. Sentenced to life in prison at Leavenworth, Emmett proved a model inmate and was pardoned after only 14 years. Upon his release he moved to California and became an upstanding citizen in the real estate business, also working as an actor and screenwriter.

       The Dalton Defenders Museum is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., and is staffed by knowledgeable local guides. To date the museum has hosted thousands of visitors from all 50 states and around the world. 

       Visitors can first relive history at the museum at 113 E. 8^th Street, and then step outside to tour the Dalton Raid Site at the Old Condon Bank, 807 Walnut, and the Death Alley and Jail in the 800 block of Walnut Street.