Investigating the Jesse James 1873 Train Robbery Site in Adair Iowa.

 

I visited the site of the first train robbery in the west. It's the subject of my book, "A Fiendish Crime". I added some additional pictures that I located in the book "A Pictorial History of The Wild West" which was published in 1955. And pictures of the monument. 

Updated 05/13/2024; I reached out to the Adair Iowa County Engineers office and this is additional information on the old structure at the location. This is great information. But Still not disappointing because it is very likely the exact location of the 1873 train robbery courtesy of Nick Kauffman, P.E. Adair County Engineer; 

"We have an old set of plans for a RR relocation in that area.  The plans are dated 1954.  They show the RR being relocated south of the old alignment.  It listed the bridge as a 3 span bridge.  There is another set of plans from around 1915 that shows the Turkey Creek crossing as a single span bridge. I believe this would be the same location as the original bridge, or at least it’s plausible.  The piling and remaining structure is not likely parts of the original structure.  It would not be likely that timber would survive intact that long.  I don’t know if wood from that period would have been treated with any preservative.  It appears that several replacements took place in the 1900s, so it’s more likely that what you see is a little more modern than something from the 1800s, although I do believe it is the same location"

                                                         Maps Courtesy of the. 

                                                     Adair Iowa County Engineer

 The old plans (in blueprint) have Turkey Creek labeled.  The realignment plans don’t show the creek crossing, but there is a bridge labeled as “Br. 4193”.  The older plans show “Bridge No 4201”.  They are referencing mile posts.  Mile posts are measured along the length of the track centerline, so a realignment will change the location of the creek crossing.  There are several other references in these plans that indicate that this is the same creek crossing.

         -  Nick Kauffman, P.E. Adair County Engineer

The train that plunged into the creek on that fateful day was

highly likely to have been a 4-4-0 engines. The history states that

the cab was splintered. 

                                              The remains of a train trestle. Photo by the author

Kansas city news

Jesse's mother and his wife

Jesse James stated, the

 "The two Youngers and Arthur McCoy were present at the robbery"

Photo courtesy of Emory Cantey

Additional photo credits, The Adair News and

 A Pictorial History of the Wild West published in 1955