Old newspapers tell of local bank robberies
First National Bank in Gravette printed $367,380 of national currency between 1906 and 1935
The headline of the “Gentry Journal-Advance and Benton County Gazette” on Sept. 22, 1932, read: “Bandits rob Gravette bank and make off with safe.”
The sub-headlines summarized the story: “Watchman was held prisoner”; Bank officials estimated between $4,000 and $5,000 was in safe”; “Store entered”; and “Posses of citizens trace truck to state line at Siloam Springs.”
The article describes what happened with the following:
“An undetermined number of yeggmen early Tuesday blasted open the vault of the First National Bank at Gravette, loading the bank’s safe into a truck, and escaped into Oklahoma, west of Siloam Springs, with between $4,000 and $5,000 in cash.
“A posse of Gravette citizens, headed by deputy sheriffs and John Nichtman, Gravette night watchman who was blindfolded and chained while the robbery was in progress, continued the search Tuesday morning.
“It was reported here that the bandits’ truck had been traced to the Oklahoma line west of Siloam Springs and Oklahoma officers took up the search in that state.
“Mr. Nichtman said he was sitting in front of the Austin building, eating his midnight lunch, about 12 o’clock, when two men on top of the building yelled at him.
“When he turned toward the men, he said he was covered with guns with orders to put up his hand. Nichtman, who has only one hand, complied by sticking up his only hand. He said the bandits threatened to shoot until he explained that he had only one hand.
“While his attention was attracted by the two men on the building, others came up from behind him and slipped a blindfold over his face and led him to the C&B Motor company building, where he was bound with chains and padlocks and closely guarded by two men. Later, when his guards stood guard outside the building, Nichtman slipped his fetters but was unable to summon assistance because telephone wires leading to the building had been cut and the only exit was guarded.
“While Nichtman was held under guard, the others in the party exploded four charges of high explosive in breaking loose the vault door, and loaded the safe, which weighed between four and five tons, into a truck. The bandits left Gravette about 3 a.m., Nichtman said.
“The bandits also broke into the Peoples’ Hardware company, across the street, and stole guns, watches, knives and similar merchandise valued at about $100, and a revolver was taken from the office of the motor company.
“As soon as the bandits had left him, Nichtman spread the alarm and, within a few minutes, a posse of citizens had taken up the search. The truck was trailed to the Oklahoma line west of Siloam Springs and it was believed the bandits may have been operating from a hideout in the vicinity of Tahlequah.
“Nichtman said he was unable to estimate the number of men in the gang, because he had only seen the two who accosted him from the top of the building. He said he was guarded by two men while the robbery was in progress.”
And it happened again in Decatur
The Nov. 17, 1932, issue included the following: Decatur Bank Safe Stolen Watchman and railroad employee bound and locked into cafe
Loss about $3,500 Robbery attributed to gang which robbed Gravette National Bank
“Using tactics similar to those employed in the robbery of a bank at Gravette several weeks ago, a band of unidentified robbers early Saturday broke into the bank of Decatur at Decatur, loaded the bank’s safe into a truck and sped away with approximately $3,500, according to reports received here.
“The bandits drove into Decatur about 4 a.m. and proceeded with the robbery after Ernie White, night watchman, and Kenneth Hines, an employee of the Kansas City Southern railroad, had been securely bound and left in a cafe.
“The gang, believed to have been six in number, dragged the safe, estimated to weigh about two tons, to the sidewalk and loaded it into a waiting truck in the space of a few minutes. The safe was in the bank office and no attempt was made to force the vault open.
“Wiles and Hines freed themselves in a few minutes and notified officers, but no traces of the robbers could be found. It was believed, however, that the truck was driven south through Siloam Springs and into Oklahoma.
“Similarity of the methods used in the Gravette robbery led Decatur and county officers to believe that the Gravette and Decatur robberies were committed by the same men.
“The bank’s loss was said to have been covered by insurance.”
Also reported in the Dec. 13, 1934, “Gentry Journal-Advance” was the sentencing of a man who pled guilty to robbing the First National Bank of Gravette two years prior. The report, originally from the “Record and Democrat,” is reprinted below: Gravette Bank Robber Sentenced by Judge Combs
Standing before Judge John S. Combs, in an adjourned session of Circuit Court Saturday, John E. Bass, 33-year old Oklahoma bandit, pled guilty of being one of the robbers who broke into the First National Bank of Gravette two years ago and trucked away a big six-ton safe. The other men who were connected with this bold robbery are already serving penitentiary sentences. One of them is serving a double murder sentence in the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester, Okla.
The robbery of the Gravette bank safe was one of the boldest of its kind ever attempted here. Three hours were required by the thieves to remove the heavy safe from the bank building onto the truck. The night watch was bound and gagged to prevent an alarm being given. The bandits made a successful getaway and, at a point near Sapulpa, unloaded the safe and blew it open. The loot amounted from $4,000 to $6,000. Bass admitted to getting $1,000 as his share of the loot.
The court fixed his punishment at two years in the penitentiary for burglary and one year for grand larceny, sentences to run concurrently. Owing to pleading guilty and waiving grand jury indictment and trial by jury, he was given a lighter sentence. Bass is said to have been a member of the UnderhillBrady gang of outlaws.
National Banks printed currency
Another interesting fact about National Banks is that they were also authorized to print national currency. According to information published in antiquemoney.com, the First National Bank of Gravette printed $367,380 dollars worth of national currency between 1906 and 1935. And, any currency printed at the Gravette bank is very rare and valuable.
The bank in Gravette is also reported to have printed 650 sheets of $10 bills. The 1902 red seal national banknotes are also very rare. They were printed at national banks between 1902 and 1908. Each note has a portrait of William McKinley on the front. The name of the city in which the banknote is printed is also prominently printed on the front of each bill.
According to an article published by Intelligent Collector, an online publication of Heritage Auctions (HA.com), a red seal $10 banknote printed in 1905 at the Gravette bank sold at auction in 2016 for $9,400. The note was signed by bank cashier James Baur and by bank president E.W. Gravett.