MEADE, Kan. | A small, one-bedroom house on the edge of Meade, Kan., has led a unusual life. It started as a honeymoon cottage, but would eventually be a hideout for a notorious band of bank robbers.
The house was built in 1887 by J. N. Whipple, a successful businessman in Meade, for his new bride, Eva Dalton. But along with Eva, who was also a successful business owner, he got her three brothers, Bob, Grat and Emmett. The three were members of the infamous Dalton Gang that terrorized the Midwest during the late 1800s. The gang would eventually use their sister's house as a hideout while on the run from the law.
Today, the house and property is open to the public and visitors can tour the house and barn and walk through the secret tunnel once used by the Dalton Gang.
Marc Ferguson, curator of the Dalton Gang Hideout, said Eva was a valued member of the town. "She was well respected in the community," said Ferguson, "and she was very well liked."
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In spite of her popularity, Eva would later leave town under a cloud of suspicion she had been harboring fugitives. "But you have to remember her brothers were blood kin and she was just looking out for her family,"Â Ferguson said.Â
The Dalton brothers were seen around Meade before they became wanted outlaws, but once they became known as bank robbers Eva never talked about them and they were rarely seen. While on the run from the law, the gang would occasionally use Eva's house as a hideout. At some point, the Dalton brothers decided to install a tunnel between the house on the hill and the barn down the hill. If the law came searching for the outlaws they would get in the tunnel then head for the barn, get on their horses and make a getaway.
But like so many other outlaws of the old west, Bob and Grat Dalton along with two other gang members met a violent end when they tried to rob two banks at once in Coffeyville, Kan.
On Oct. 5, 1892 the Dalton Gang donned disguises and around 9:30 in the morning rode into Coffeyville. Along with the three Dalton brothers were Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers. They planned to tie their horses on Eighth Street between the two banks, but the street was closed for repairs so they had to tie the horses in the alley, making for a less-than-quick getaway.
Grat, Bill Powers and Dick Broadwell went into Condon Bank while Bob and Emmett went across the street into the First National. But when the gang demanded the money from the Condon's safe, a bank employee told them the safe had a time lock and couldn't be opened for another 10 minutes, at 9:30. The vault didn't have a time lock but the quick thinking clerk hoped the 10 minutes would give local citizens time to arm themselves. And it did.
When the gang emerged from the banks, they were met with a hail of gunfire. The gunfight lasted just 12 minutes, but when the smoke cleared, four of the gang, Bob and Grat Dalton, Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers, along with four Coffeyville citizens were dead.
The youngest Dalton brother, Emmett, survived the fight but had 23 gunshot wounds. He was sentenced to life in the Kansas Penitentiary, but was pardoned after 14 years. The experience apparently changed his life for the better. After his release, he moved to California, where he became a real estate agent, author and actor. Emmett died at the age of 66.
Today, the Dalton Gang hideout, barn and tunnel is a museum operated by the Meade County Historical Society. Visitors enter through the barn where they purchase tickets and can either go upstairs to the museum or walk through the 95-foot tunnel just as the Dalton Gang did, to the fully furnished house. Fortunately the crudely built tunnel has since been rebuilt and reinforced for safety.
The museum not only tells the story of the Dalton Gang and their sister, but also contains a large collection of local history and western artifacts. Among the many displays is an impressive collection of firearms that Ferguson said is probably his favorite part of the museum. "Some of the guns are mine," said Ferguson, "and some belong to our board president." He said many of the artifacts are donated but some have found at sales and auctions and purchased for the museum. "We have a pair of women's boots I found at an auction," said Ferguson. The boots are in excellent condition in spite of being about 100 years old.
The house is furnished as it may have been when Eva and her husband lived there. Also in the house are several displays of newspaper articles detailing the history of the house and the Dalton Gang along with historic photos of the hideout as it was in the 1800s.
Over the years there have been stories that indicate the Dalton brothers may still be hanging around the hideout. Ferguson said although he's never seen any ghosts, there have been some unexplained happenings. "We've had some odd occurrences and people have said they get strange feelings while here. My daughter doesn't like going in the tunnel. She feels like someone is following her in the tunnel."
One man touring the house later told Ferguson he felt someone touch his shoulder but when he turned around there was no one there. Ferguson said they've had some ghost hunters spend the night but they didn't see anything.
