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This Day in Minnesota History

January 7, 1876

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The Younger gang tries to rob the First National Bank in Northfield. Bookkeeper Joseph Lee Heywood delays the robbery by refusing to open the vault and pays with his life. A gunfight in the streets of Northfield follows; two of the robbers die and two more are wounded in the fight. A posse catches up with the gang at Madelia a few days later, killing one additional member and capturing all three of the infamous Younger brothers, Cole, Bob, and Jim, who would be sentenced to life in prison. Two of the gang members escape. As the Younger brothers often worked with Frank and Jesse James, it was assumed that they took part in this crime, but their guilt has never been proven.

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