I've always said that Iowa was the gateway to the American wild west.And this story exemplifies that. This particular story was brought to my attention by the folks at History Delight, and they were kind enough to give me permission to link their video about a shoot out connected to a robbery that occurred in 1901 in Albert City Iowa. This adds an additional (fourth) story of Iowa's wild west days to this blog!
The Shoot out
The story of the shoot out most definetly has all the makings of a wild west style shootout.The incident in Albert City claimed three lives, and has been a long standing mystery in that community that may never be solved.
The Back story from;
Its was about 3 p.m. on the afternoon of November 16, 1901, when three men showed up at the Medlicott Restaurant on main street. It appeared that they were ready to relax and enjoy a good meal in the quiet northwest Iowa community. The town had just been founded two years before, had only one telephone in the community, and, assuming no one in Albert City would know they had just robbed a bank in the neighboring city of Greenville the night before, the trio of robbers boldly decided to satisfy their hunger in the public restaurant.
It turned out to be the last meal they would ever enjoy together.
Word had reached Albert City Marshal Charley Lodine that the robbers were in town, and he rounded up some fellow citizens of the community to go to the depot and arrest the three men.
After entering the depot fully armed, the Albert City residents expected the robbers to surrender quietly. Instead, their appearance touched off the biggest shootout the area had ever seen, claiming the lives of three men and ingraining itself into the annals of community history.
One century later, the gun battle is still remembered by citizens of the town, who will commemorated the centennial anniversary of the gun fight.
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