How a gang of robbers helped put Madelia on the map

MADELIA, Minn. — What happened to Jesse James and his band of bank robbers after they fled Northfield ? Some of them ended up near the town of Madelia.

"I go somewhere and people ask, 'Where are you from?' 'Northfield.' One of the first things that most people say? 'Oh, the Defeat of Jesse James Days,'" said Galen Malecha of Northfield.

Sept. 7, 1876, marked the beginning of the end for Jesse James and his crew. While attempting to rob a Northfield bank, a gunfight broke out and the residents drove the raiders out of town.

"Cole Younger says, later in life, that when they were in Northfield on Division Street, it was 'Hell's Gallery,'" said Tim Freeleand, "Defeat of Jesse James" emcee.

Younger and his brothers fled west with Frank and Jesse James. Near Lake Crystal, Minnesota, the James brothers left the rest of the group behind, hoping to lure law enforcement away from their fellow thieves. That's when the Youngers made their way to Madelia.

"It was reported that this was the most exciting time Madelia had ever seen," said Pam Sandbo of the Watonwan County Historical Society.

The Youngers and their friend, Charley Pitts, were noticed by Oscar Sorbel, the son of a farmer. The teenager then made a Paul Revere-like ride into town and alerted Sheriff Glispin, who quickly formed a posse that tracked the criminals down near the Watonwan River.

"He says, 'OK, so this is what we're going to do. We're going to walk in straight at them and shoot. Shoot until they are down or we are,'" said historian Adeline Yates.

The Younger brothers' gang had a decision to make at that point: surrender or stand and fight. They chose to do the latter, and they paid the price for it.

Yates said the Younger gang shot first. The town posse, known as the Magnificent Seven, returned fire, killing Pitts and wounding Cole, Bob and Jim Younger. The revolver Jim used that fateful day can be found at the county historical society.

"My two uncles were involved in the capture out here," said Yates.

Yates said the brothers were taken into town and temporarily jailed at the Flanders Hotel before they were transferred to Faribault, and later sentenced to life in prison in Stillwater.

"My uncles kept in touch with the Younger brothers in Stillwater, and they actually wrote letters," said Yates.

For years, Yates and others would organize a re-enactment in September to commemorate the town's famous capture. She says visitors even came from other countries to watch.

"This is where we did the shootout. And all our visitors got to sit on the hill and got to see all of this, all the way down across here," said Yates on a plot of land a few miles out of town.

Glen Christensen's dad helped get a mural about the shootout painted near downtown Madelia.

"Because that was such a big deal to the town, we thought this would be the perfect place to put it on top of the oldest building in the county," said Christensen.

While parts of the story are tragic, Christensen believes the mural shows rural Minnesota's resiliency: How people can put their differences aside and rise up when they're needed most.

"There may be problems or maybe things you have to deal with, challenges you have to deal with. But the town always comes together and finds a way to solve it," said Christensen. "Whether it's the Younger brothers' capture or the fire that took place in 2016. We always find a way to get together and make it happen and continue evolving forward."

Bob Younger died in prison. Cole and Jim Younger were later paroled. The Watonwan County Historical Society in Madelia also has a display that details the events that led to the Younger brothers' capture.