Crowell Bank
Baxter Springs Historic Walking Tour
The first bank in Baxter Springs was the Bank of Baxter also called the Crowell Bank. It was established in 1870 and did business in this building. H. R. Crowell, the founder, was the second mayor of Baxter Springs. In May of 1876, Jesse James and an accomplice who may have been Cole Younger, held up the bank cashier and made off with $2900. The bandits headed south for Indian Territory, taunting locals to give pursuit. They were pursued by a posse to a point seven miles south of town. There they managed to waylay the posse and disarm their pursuers.
The Crowell Bank collapsed in 1887, a victim of poor management and hard times. In this century, the building has been the site of a grocery store and several restaurants. The facade of the building was rebuilt in 1926, but the remainder of the building is original.
Marker is at the intersection of Military Avenue (U.S. 69) and 11th Street, on the right when traveling south on Military Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
