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Monument to the First Train Robbery in the West

1156 Anita-Adair Road, Adair, Iowa 50002 USA

Free
Free to Visit
Open Now
Tue 12a-11:59p
  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    not Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • No Public
    Restrooms

No Longer Maintained

This location is no longer maintained in Roadtrippers. Please confirm location details before visiting.

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“By Jesse James and his gang of Outlaws”

Monument to the First Train Robbery in the West. Features a section of track that Jesse James used to derail the train. According to Wikipedia: Famous train robbers include Bill Miner, Jesse James, and Butch Cassidy. Jesse James is mistakenly thought to have completed the first successful train robbery in the American West when on July 21, 1873 the James-Younger Gang took US $3,000 from a Rock Island Railroad train after derailing it southwest of the town of Adair, Iowa. However, the first peacetime train robbery in the United States actually occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded the Ohio & Mississippi train shortly after it left Seymour, Indiana. They broke into one safe and tipped the other off the train before jumping off. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency later traced the crime to the Reno Gang. There was one earlier train robbery in May 1865, but because it was committed by armed guerrillas and occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War, it is not considered to be the first peacetime train robbery in the United States. Some sources say that the May 1865 robbery took place at a water siding while the train was stopped taking on water."

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Reviewed by
RetroGardenParty

  • 20 Reviews
  • 5 Helpful
May 17, 2016
Rated

The dropped pin appears to be correct, going by the street view, which means the address to type into your GPS is 1469 White Pole Rd., Adair, IA. It's a mile and a half west down the road from 1156 Anita-Adair.

This is the address I will be trying this summer when I am out there. Wish me luck!

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
brandangelak

  • 13 Reviews
  • 5 Helpful
July 10, 2015
Rated 4.0

This was easy to find and a nice spot to get out stretch our legs. Not a lot to see here, but the history is interesting and it was a good diversion.

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Josie

  • 8 Reviews
  • 3 Helpful
August 15, 2014
Rated 3.0

A great stop to stretch your legs, not necessarily a destination spot since this picture is the extent of the site. But if you're a fan of wild west history it is definitely worth a stop. I really liked how it was out in the mist of the wind farms.

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
aurora.gray

  • 1 Review
  • 2 Helpful
June 12, 2014
Rated

Still there, just to go West not East.

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Anna Hider

  • Blogger
  • 1,414 Reviews
  • 640 Helpful
April 30, 2015
Rated 4.0

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. I've updated the position of the POI to match the dropped pin, so it should be fixed.

On the serious, this is just a little plaque and a bit of old railroad, but it's the kind of place where you can stop, take a picture, and get out of the car for a hot sec. As a history nerd, I find it pretty interesting, but it's certainly not something everyone will care about.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
wayne.whelpdale

  • 8 Reviews
  • 7 Helpful
July 28, 2014
Rated 4.0

As a train enthusiast myself, I made sure that my wife and kids would make this stop upon our road trip to Denver. At first we had a heck of a time trying to find this place as our maps led us to the gravel road up to the railroad tracks. Nothing was here. Once we got back to the main road, I decided to follow the road that bends and sure enough after half or so mile it led us to the site. It's a great site to witness! There's a storyboard that explains of the event that transpired as well as what happened to Jesse James later on in his life. My boys loved the train wheel statue and it's tracks! It's worth a stop in a small town in Adair, IA.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
NickiNell

  • 1 Review
  • 0 Helpful
May 28, 2014
Rated

Not here anymore but there was a ton of wind mills

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
A. Crews

  • 55 Reviews
  • 96 Helpful
March 30, 2014
Rated

Thanks for the dropped pin, it got me right there. I thought it was awesome that they left part of the original train tracks as part of the monument - worth the stop.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
lpete321

  • 8 Reviews
  • 8 Helpful
March 08, 2014
Rated

Dropped Pin
near Summit, IA
http://goo.gl/maps/pwiYg

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
lpete321

  • 8 Reviews
  • 8 Helpful
March 08, 2014
Rated

I meant go west instead of east

1 person found this review helpful

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Monument to the First Train Robbery in the West

1156 Anita-Adair Road
Adair, Iowa
50002 USA
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Hours

Open 24 hours today
  • Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm

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