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Bonnie & Clyde Joplin Missouri Hideout

  • by cartert2
  • | Dec 17, 2010
  • | 1413 views
  • | 12 comments

On April 1, 1933 the Barrow Gang which was made up of Clyde Barrow, his girlfriend Bonnie Parker, his brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche and W.D Jones, moved into a stone garage apartment at 3347 1/2 Oak Ridge Drive, Joplin, Missouri.

The gang began a string of robberies that included the Neosho Milling Company and an armory in which they made off with a cache of weapons. Suspicious neighbors called the Missouri Highway Patrol who thought a bootlegging operation was taking place. On April 13 Sgt Kahler and other local law officers arrived with a search warrant. They blocked the garage door just as Clyde, Buck and W.D. entered. Blanche and Bonnie were inside the apartment.  When they heard gun shots from outside Bonnie began shooting from the living room window while Clyde and W.D. were shooting from inside the garage. Buck went up to the apartment to get the girls during a lull in the gunfire. Blanche's dog Snowball got scared and ran down the stairs. She went after him but ran into W.D. who had been shot in the right side. Buck went down to the garage to see if Clyde had been shot. Clyde yelled for them to get down there so they could get away. Bonnie went down first. Blanche helped W.D. down the stairs and into the car. She did not see Clyde or Buck. She went around the car and saw the body of Constable Wes Harryman lying on the garage floor. She saw Buck near the body and heard Clyde yell for them to get into the car. Blanche helped Clyde push the police car out of the way that was blocking their car. The body of officer Harry McGinnis was just outside the garage. Shots started coming from around the corner of the apartment. Clyde was shot. Blanche heard Buck calling for her and ran back to the door where he stood. They got into the backseat with W.D. Bonnie was already in the front seat Clyde Jumped into the drivers seat and hit the gas. They took off down 34th street to main and into Oklahoma.

After the smoke cleared and the gang was long gone. The police gathered evidence and everything left behind. Among their belongings were 7 weapons, a money bag from a bank in Springfield, Missouri, a guitar, Bonnie's poetry, Blanche and Buck's marriage license, Buck's parole papers, Blanche's purse, Buck's car and all their clothes. Several necklaces were found and now are on display in the museum in Joplin.

On July 24, 1933 Buck and Blanche Barrow was captured after a shot out near Dexter Iowa.

On May 23, 1934 Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

 On November 16, 1934 W.D. Jones was arrested in Houston, Texas.

The Joplin City Council rents the hideout once a month for a 3 night period. For more info check out www.joplinhideout.com


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Comments


  • 17 months ago

    cartert2

    Thanks I have always liked history and visiting historical sites.

  • 17 months ago

    Flockmshockm

    I found your story and pictures very intriguing and enlightening.  I have a tendency to fall into pictures and get involved emotionally.  I Loved looking at their house and the rooms they inhabited.  Truly amazing.  Would love to visit there.

  • 17 months ago

    cartert2

    Thanks for your comment

  • 17 months ago

    cartert2

    Yes that has a lot to do with the outlaw element in Missouri history.  The states of Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma which border Missouri attracted a lot of outlaws as well.

  • 17 months ago

    HyperLucid

    Cool pics ~ interesting stuff

    I do believe (read somewhere) the history with the large outlaw element in those parts has to do with the fall of the South at the Civil wars end. Apparently a lot of folks in the area were not happy with the way things came to an end and outlaw life was both accepted and harbored by a lot of the local population.

  • 17 months ago

    cartert2

    Thanks for the info cliffhardin67...very interesting. Missouri for some reason has always attracted outlaws. I think we have a pretty cool history.

  • 17 months ago

    cliffhardin67

    too close to home !!! in that same timeline, pretty boy floyd held up the sheriffs dept. here in my hometown while his car was being worked on. he was somewhat hospitable to them and he had one of the sheriffs drive him around. he gave the mechanics a revolver for fixing his car. this was aired on history detectives last year.

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