White Pole Road, Part 2

I started my trip down the White Pole Road at the west end, Adair. Stopping first just south of I-80 headed toward Greenfield to see Freedom Rock. Painted annually by area artist Ray “Bubba” Sorenson it is a tribute to the men and women in the military and those that have served. Freedom Rock has its own blog entry.

From Freedom Rock, I headed a few miles west on I-80 and to the Adair exit. And yes, you can see the yellow smiley face water tower from the interstate! Stopping in the Kum & Go to pick up an audio tour tape, I hit the road for the Jesse James Historical Marker just west of town.

A large steam engine wheel and some rails marks the spot where the James Gang pulled off the world’s first robbery of a moving train on July 21, 1873. Thinking $75,000 dollars in gold was on the train, they only got away with about $3,000. There was no gold.

Besides Jesse and his brother, Frank, the gang included Jim and Cole Younger; Robert Moore, whose home was in the Indian territory of Oklahoma; Comanche Tony, a Texan; and Cell Miller.

It was about 8:30 in the evening four miles west of Adair when Rock Island Lines passenger train No. 2 was climbing a steep grade and approaching a sharp curve. Two Pullman sleeping cars, five coaches and an express-baggage car made up the train.
Near the end of the curve the James gang lay ready with a rope tied to a rail they had pried loose. As the train rounded the curve the engineer, John Rafferty, saw the rope tied to the rail and immediately reversed his engine. However, the train ran into the gap and turned on its side, killing Rafferty and injuring the fireman. The locomotive tender and two baggage cars were thrown from the track. The train was wrecked west of Adair and 600 or 700 feet east of Turkey Creek bridge.

The gang came out of the brush firing their guns and causing panic. The passengers were confronted by armed men masked in full Ku Klux Klan gear. Not finding the gold, they robbed the passengers, dumping all of their valuables into bags and rode off with a characteristic rebel yell. They disappeared as quickly as they had appeared and headed for their hideout in the hills of western Missouri where they were fairly safe from lawmen among their friends and relatives.