SLCL Presents Wild West Historian Tom Clavin on the Dalton Gang

St. Louis County Library Foundation’s Westfall Politics & History Series presents historian Tom Clavin for a discussion and signing of “The Last Outlaws: The Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang.”

The event will take place on Thursday, November 16, at 7:00 p.m. at the Daniel Boone Branch, 300 Clarkson Road, Ellisville, MO 63011.

The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase at the event from The Novel Neighbor.

Acclaimed historian of the American West, Tom Clavin presents a definitive account of the Dalton Gang and the most brazen bank heist in history. 

The dreaded Dalton Gang consisted of three brothers and their rotating cast of colorful accomplices who saw themselves as descended from the legendary James brothers. They soon became legends themselves, beginning their career as common horse thieves before graduating to robbing banks and trains.

On October 5, 1892, the Dalton Gang attempted their boldest and bloodiest raid yet: robbing two banks in broad daylight in Coffeyville, Kansas, simultaneously. As the gang crossed the plaza to enter the two buildings, the outlaws were recognized by townspeople, who raised the alarm. Citizens armed themselves with shotguns and six-shooters from nearby hardware stores and were locked and loaded when the thieves emerged from the banks. The ensuing gun battle was a lead-filled firefight of epic proportions. As the smoke cleared, eight men lay dead––including four of the five members of the doomed Dalton Gang.

For the first time ever, the full story of the Dalton Gang's life of crime, culminating in one of the Wild West’s most violent events, are chronicled in detail––a last gruesome gasp of the age of gunfights.

TOM CLAVIN is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and has worked as a newspaper editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for The New York Times. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. His books include the bestselling Frontier Lawmen trilogy—”Wild Bill,” “Dodge City,” and “Tombstone”—and “Blood and Treasure” with Bob Drury. 

Program sites are accessible. With at least two weeks' notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Call 314-994-3300 or contact us.