July 18, 2019joynealkidney
Since 1933, Dexter, Iowa has been known for the Barrow Gang shootout at Dexfield Park. At the time, the gang consisted of Clyde Barrow, his girlfriend Bonnie Parker, Clyde's older brother Marvin "Buck" Barrow and his wife Blanche, and teenager W.D. Jones.

Bonnie and Clyde were together for only two years, between 1932 and 1934, and committed a dozen murders and a series of robberies. Bonnie had been an A-grad in high school and was married to someone else. Blanche, Buck's wife, was the daughter of a preacher.
The gang hid insideDexfield-Parkcamped for five days in July 1933, recovering from a Missouri gunfight. Buck Barrow had a serious head wound. Every day, Clyde drove to Dexter, where they bought meals, medicine, and even clothes from Dexter dealers. Dexter was just off White Pole Road, so during the Great Depression it was common to have international travelers and strangers in the park. Although most people in town would park and drive in, these people would always come into town in twos and back up their Ford to park and keep the engine running.
Some Girl Scouts, including Maxine Schell, also camped at Dexfield Park. One morning they were going on a long hike and came across some people at a campsite and waved and greeted them. They later learned that they had encountered the Barrow Gang.
After someone found bloodied bandages and alerted authorities, they began to suspect the campers were actually the Barrow Gang. A group of about fifty officers, including Dexter's attorney John Love and County Sheriff Clint Knee, surrounded the gang early July 24. Bonnie, Clyde and Jones fled north where they hiked to Vallee Feller Farm to steal a car.
Dexter officer John Love in front of his shop
Clint Knee, Sheriff von Dallas County
The Dexter Museum has artifacts, images and maps from Dexter's clash with the infamous Barrow Gang clash.Rod Stanleyis the local expert on the Barrow Gang and often does shows about them. So many people asked what happened to them after the Dexfield shooting, so he had a large map of their robberies and shootings made for the museum.

Map of Bonnie and Clyde in the Dexter Museum
Gas cap stolen from Clyde's car, donated to the museum
Barrow Gang image
Images and artifacts of the Barrow Gang
Rod Stanley regularly tours the area where the Barrow Gang hid in 1933Dexter-MuseumFacebook page for his contact details. The museum also has books about Bonnie and Clyde for sale, and the infamous gang also features on the museum t-shirt.

TheYouTube-Videotells of the shooting and interviews Kurt Piper and Marvelle Feller who were there that day.

Sources: 1968 Dexter Centennial History
Reflections along White Pole Road by White Pole Road Development Corporation, 2008. Museum Board Member Doris Feller wrote the section in the Reflections book entitled “Barrow Gang Captured”. Her father-in-law's Firsthand Memoir and Witness to Bonnie and Clyde by Maxine Shell Hadley can also be found there.
Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years by Ralph Fultsby John Neal Phillips
Rod Stanley vom Dexter Museumtold the storyforOur American Stories.
Good entry. I've always been fascinated by the history of Depression-era outlaws like Bonnie & Clyde, Ma Barker. John Dillinger and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Thank you for sharing. I must visit if I'm ever in this area.
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When the museum isn't open be sure to reach out to Rod Stanley as he loves to share all the local history - he knows from the gang that brings food to the park and brings back the dishes every day that Clyde puts it on Secured parking and ran the Ford etc! You would enjoy him telling you the stories.
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How strange is that. I read something about her the other day. I never counted two and two beyond what I had read. Thank you Joy for filling in the blanks.
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(Video) Bonnie and Clyde remembering the Dexter shootout !On Thursdays I do ads for the museum. I also post it on FB pages: Memories of Dexter, Dallas County History, Forgotten Iowa and even a Bonnie and Clyde History One, so enjoy replying to everyone's feedback. RABRAI (https://ragbrai.com/routemaps/2019-route-maps/) starts on Sunday and goes through Dexter on Monday, so the museum committee will be busy there. If it wasn't so hot and muggy I'd love to be out there to help.
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Oh, and Mom was 14 when it happened, went into town in time to see Buck (with a new head bandage) and Blanche come out of the doctor's office. These doctors later gave birth to thousands of babies born to us in Dexter!
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AND the next April, Bonnie and Clyde came back to Iowa and robbed the Stuart Bank in the next town west of Dexter. (My grandfather became a night watchman there after one of them was killed in a robbery on Stuart in 1921 - just after twins Dale and Darlene were born.
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Who doesn't love hearing the stories of these notorious bandits...great post with your personal connection to this gang. Wow!
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The fascinating stories from the Dexter Museum are endless! I watched the video of the first-hand accounts of the young men who had helped Blanche and Buck. Unbelievable.
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Vallee Feller's daughter-in-law, Doris Feller, is a member of the Dexter Museum Board and loves sharing the museum with others. She has a group coming in today and Monday the RAGBRAI gang will be swinging through Dexter so all the board members are ready for her. (Register's Annual Great Bikeride Across Iowa starts tomorrow!)
(Video) The Iowa Files presents: Bonnie & Clyde After Dexfield ParkLoading...
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I think I need to put the Dexter Museum on my bucket list to visit after I retire. I think it would be worth making the trip.
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It's a nice little museum for the size of the city. Dexter is known for Bonnie and Clyde (1933), Drew's Candy Kitchen (there since the 1930s), their 1916 elliptical brick "Roundhouse" (basketball games, plays, school musicals, etc.), and when Truman gave a speech there at the National Plowing Game from 1948. (I remember that one!)
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Was that a plowing competition to see who could plow the most ground the fastest?
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There were different categories. Behind the President Truman were large scoreboards listing the names of the contestants, their districts, and the style of plowing. These original scoreboards were found in John Bunnell's shed and donated to the Dexter Museum in 2008. KCCI's grandfather, Eric Hanson, was one of the candidates. (The book Reflections Along the White Pole Road shows Eric pointing to his grandfather Donald Hanson's name on the scoreboard.) They estimated that 100,000 people came that day! Dexter never had a population greater than 800 souls.
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That's amazing!
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Thank you for these pictures, Joy!! It is truly remarkable work!!
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(Video) INSIDE the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum & Visiting the Ambush Location | Bonnie and Clyde ShootoutVery humiliating.
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Fascinating not only this post, but the whole blog. With more time I will try to read as much as possible. Great story, so being a history buff, especially the US, I'm glad to read you.
PS I knew a bit of the Bonnie and Clide story from reading Enemies of the People One, about the depression era, Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, etc. But I definitely didn't know that part. So thank you for letting me read more history and learn what I can on my own.Loading...
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[…] the park to allow Buck Barrow to recover from head injuries sustained in a Missouri shooting. The historic Dexfield Park shooting that resulted in the escape of Bonnie and Clyde and their driver and the arrest of Buck and Blanche […]
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[…] Bonnie and Clyde? The map shows Dexfield Park, where a group shootout occurred in 1933. Before becoming Dexfield Park, it started out as a mineral springs spa called […]
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FAQs
Where was the Bonnie and Clyde shoot out? ›
Background. Clyde Champion Barrow and his companion, Bonnie Parker, were shot to death by officers in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934, after one of the most colorful and spectacular manhunts the nation had seen up to that time.
What did Bonnie and Clyde do in Dexter Iowa? ›Bonnie and Clyde and their gang had been camping in an abandoned park, recovering from a earlier shootout, when they were ambushed on July 24, 1933, by a posse from the nearby town of Dexter. Every member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang left this firefight either wounded or dying.
Is there still blood in the Bonnie and Clyde car? ›There you'll find all 112 bullet holes in the body of the car, Clyde's blood-spattered and torn shirt, which Clyde's sister has signed, and some other pieces of memorabilia surrounding the Ford.
How many bullets did Bonnie and Clyde get? ›Answer and Explanation: There were at least 150 bullets fired at the stolen car in which Bonnie and Clyde were traveling on May 23, 1934. A posse of law enforcement agents waited to ambush them and then opened fire on the car. Clyde was hit at least 17 times and was believed to have been killed instantly.
How much money did Bonnie and Clyde get away with? ›Jones—Bonnie and Clyde, as they were popularly known, robbed gas stations, restaurants, and small-town banks—their take never exceeded $1,500—chiefly in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri.
Can you visit the site where Bonnie and Clyde were killed? ›Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Site
This monument, which is located 8 miles south of Gibsland on Hwy. 154, marks the spot where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed. There is also a Bonnie and Clyde Museum in Gibsland run by the son of one of the lawmen who ambushed Bonnie and Clyde in 1934.
Henry Methvin (April 8, 1912 – April 19, 1948) was an American criminal, a bank robber, and a Depression-era outlaw.
Who set up Bonnie and Clyde's ambush? ›As the outlaws continued to run, Henry's father made a deal with the police to help set up an ambush for Bonnie and Clyde if Henry were pardoned in Texas. The police agreed, and Bonnie and Clyde were killed on May 23, 1934.
Did Bonnie and Clyde commit crimes in Iowa? ›In 1934, Bonnie and Clyde returned to Iowa and committed a series of robberies, beginning at First State Bank in Rembrandton on January 23, State Savings Bank of Knierim on February 1st, and the local bank in Everly on May 3rd.
Who owns Bonnie and Clyde death car? ›Bonnie and Clyde's Death Car was relocated from Nevada to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum in California until February 2022, where it was part of the “FBI: From Al Capone to Al Qaeda” display.
Did Bonnie and Clyde have gonorrhea? ›
He knows Clyde obtained his arsenal by breaking into the National Guard Armory in Ranger, which was just an old theater with a padlock to secure the guns. He knows that the entire Barrow gang suffered from gonorrhea.
What mental disorders did Bonnie and Clyde have? ›Hybristophilia (also known as the Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome) is a form of paraphilia (or perversion) involving sexual attraction to people who have committed some sort of "outrage".
What kind of gun did Bonnie use? ›The gun most associated with Bonnie is the cut-down, semi-auto Remington Model 11 shotgun she is seen holding in photographs.
What gun did Bonnie and Clyde carry? ›The Colt . 45 and . 38 Special pistols that Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker carried when they died could each fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Why did Bonnie have a limp? ›Bonnie and Clyde both walked with a limp, but for different reasons—Clyde was tortured in prison which caused him to cut off his own toe, and Bonnie's leg was brutally burned in a fiery car crash (Clyde was driving).
Why were Bonnie and Clyde liked so much? ›One of the most iconic couples of the 20th century was Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The two became notorious outlaws at the height of the Great Depression and were surprisingly idolized for their dedication to each other through prison breaks, robberies, and murder.
Were Bonnie and Clyde in love? ›Soon after, Bonnie met Clyde, and although the pair fell in love, she never divorced Thornton. On the day Bonnie and Clyde were killed in 1934, she was still wearing Thornton's wedding ring and had a tattoo on the inside of her right thigh with two interconnected hearts labeled “Bonnie” and “Roy.”
How old were Bonnie and Clyde when they died? ›Bonnie was 23 years old and Clyde was 25 years old in May of 1934 at the time of their death.
Where is the real Bonnie and Clyde vehicle? ›The Bonnie and Clyde car is currently on display at Primm Valley Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Bonnie and Clyde, the notorious criminals, were idolized because they were a young, attractive couple, in love. They were not married, which added to the salaciousness of the matter, but they were idealized nonetheless.
Where is Bonnie Parker's grave located? ›Bonnie Parker is buried in northwest Dallas at Crown Hill Memorial Park. Located at the intersection of Ft. Worth Avenue and Neal Street in north Oak Cliff, the cemetery will be accessible between 9am and 5pm Saturday May 24th via a pedestrian gate on Neal St. on the east side of the cemetery.
How far are Bonnie and Clyde buried? ›
"I think any parent would say no that was enough. But it's been 84 years." So, Bonnie is buried at Crown Hill Memorial Park near Love Field. Nine miles away, Clyde was laid to rest at Western Heights Cemetery in West Dallas.
Did Bonnie and Clyde have a baby? ›Bonnie and Clyde never had a baby.
There have been many claims by individuals who stated that they were children of Bonnie or Clyde or of the pair, but none of these claims have ever been supported with evidence.
We all know the reality has to be a lot different from that. Mr. GUINN: Well, the movie is wonderful entertainment, but it's less than five percent historically accurate.
Did Bonnie and Clyde give to the poor? ›Bonnie and Clyde did not give money to the poor. They may have occasionally given out small sums of money to people, but the view of them as modern-day 'Robin Hoods' who robbed from the rich banks and gave to the poor people was fabricated by the media.
Did Texas Rangers shoot Bonnie and Clyde? ›Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, who killed Bonnie and Clyde, gets film redemption in 'Highwaymen' Frank Hamer, the former Texas Ranger who was brought out of retirement to stop gangsters Bonnie and Clyde, has found film redemption through Kevin Costner's laconic portrayal in "The Highwaymen."
How many states were Bonnie and Clyde wanted in? ›Over the next two years, the couple teamed with various accomplices to rob a string of banks and stores across five states—Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and Louisiana. To law enforcement agents, the Barrow Gang—including Barrow's childhood friend, Raymond Hamilton, W.D.
What happened to Bonnie and Clyde's sister in law? ›After her third husband's passing Blanche did not remarry, and she eventually died of lung cancer on December 24, 1988. She was aged 77. She was buried in Dallas' Grove Hill Memorial Park as Blanche B. Frasure.
What was Bonnie and Clyde's favorite car? ›To get from murder to murder, and robbery to robbery, the Barrow gang stole cars -- among them the Ford V-8 that would become notorious as the Bonnie and Clyde death car. Barrow was famous for his love of Fords, and in the day, the V-8 Ford was the fastest car on the road.
What color was the car Bonnie and Clyde were killed in? ›Ted Hinton, one the law officers involved in the ambush wrote that the vehicle was "tan" in color and one of the official reports by law enforcement officials described the car as being a "desert sand" color.
How fast was Bonnie and Clyde's car? ›It could reportedly reach 65 miles an hour if pressed, but its comfort zone was probably closer to 40 miles an hour. Like many contemporaneous criminals, the thrill-seeking Barrow was capable of turning almost any car (and, in at least one case, a mule) into a suitable getaway vehicle.
Was Clyde asexual? ›
While the 1968 film depicted the couple's relationship as asexual and Clyde as a virgin until Bonnie very nearly raped him two-thirds into the film, in Brooks's novel Clyde is a man traumatized by the rapes and physical abuse he suffered by other men while serving his first prison sentence for robbery.
Did Clyde have erectile dysfunction? ›Clyde's supposed impotence (Beatty, clearly, was playing against type) was invented for the movie. The original script instead cast him as a stud, shoving in a swinging 60s sequence in which he invited a male gang member to join in a threesome.
What did they do with Bonnie and Clyde's bodies? ›The bodies of Bonnie and Clyde were shipped to Dallas, where their families made the mistake of allowing public viewings. Some 10,000 people swarmed around the funeral home for a peek at Clyde's corpse; Bonnie's mother estimated another 20,000 came to see her daughter's body, though they were not as rowdy.
What was Bonnie addicted to? ›In June 1933 he crashed a car in a ravine near Wellington, and Bonnie's leg was horribly burned. She began using morphine to dull the pain.
What did Bonnie suffer from? ›Bonnie seems to have the perfect family, yet she suffers from debilitating depression. Tragically, Bonnie is not able to find a cure before her life is cut short by murder.
Why is it called Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome? ›Why is it called Bonnie and Clyde syndrome? The term is derived from the Greek word hubrizein (ὑβρίζειν), meaning "to commit an outrage against someone" (ultimately derived from hubris ὕβρις, "hubris"), and philo, meaning "having a strong affinity/preference for".
What gun did Bruce Lee use? ›In modern times, the nunchaku (Tabak-Toyok) was popularized by the actor and martial artist Bruce Lee and by Dan Inosanto. Lee famously used nunchaku in several scenes in the 1972 film Fist of Fury.
How many times were Bonnie and Clyde shot? ›They were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934 by four Texas officers and two Louisiana officers who had been chasing the couple across the country. It is believed the elusive Bonnie and Clyde were shot more than fifty times by the officers with automatic rifles and shotguns, ensuring they would not escape again.
What gun is a Tommy gun? ›The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", "Trench Sweeper", or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United States Army Brigadier general John T. Thompson in 1918.
Did Bonnie and Clyde have a Tommy gun? ›KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Tommy Gun and shotgun reportedly owned by the Depression Era bank robbers Bonnie & Clyde were sold at auction today for a total of $210,000. The . 45 caliber Thompson Sub-Machine Gun was believed to have been used by Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
How does Bonnie wake up? ›
Bonnie was supposed to live a full life and grow old, but as Bonnie tells Elena, "I can be with Enzo now… I'm ready." But Enzo's not. Appearing to Bonnie, Enzo tells her that it's not her time before he pulls her back into the light, which causes her to wake up.
Does Bonnie ever wake up? ›Because it's the location of his first kiss with Elena, and the first moment she admitted she loved him. It's the spot where Elena took the cure, and now, it's the spot where Bonnie will decide to “give me my Elena back.” With that, Bonnie rips out his heart … and wakes up! Now, Damon's on the run.
How was Bonnie resurrected? ›Bonnie first died in season 4 when she brought Jeremy back to life. She returned to the land of the living in season 5 but only by becoming the anchor to the Other Side. Her second death took place later that same season when she and Damon became trapped in a '90s-era prison world after the Other Side crumbled.
Where in Oklahoma was Bonnie and Clyde shootout? ›Stringtown, Oklahoma: Bonnie and Clyde Shootout Site
Mississippi Ave., in a grassy area just north of an abandoned gas station and just south of an empty building with a green roof. Two miles south of the Choctaw Casino.
It was in Oklahoma that Clyde really started his journey to Gibsland when he killed his first cop. Bonnie was home with her mother Emma in West Dallas. Clyde and partners Raymond Hamilton and Ross Dyer were passing through Stringtown in Atoka County on Aug. 5, 1932, when they came across an outdoor dance.
Did Bonnie Parker live in Oklahoma? ›Bonnie Parker, who died with her partner in a hail of bullets in a police ambush on a Louisiana road, lived in Oklahoma before she met Clyde Barrow and joined him in blazing a path of crime across the Southwest.
Where was Bonnie and Clydes first crime? ›The notorious criminal was first arrested in 1926 for automobile theft after failing to return a car he had rented in Dallas to visit an estranged high school girlfriend.
What is written on Bonnie Parker's grave? ›Grave of Bonnie Parker - Precise Location
Bonnie's grave is next to the fourth spruce tree on the right, along the hedge line. There is an upright headstone with "Tyner" on it directly beside her grave.
The following day, according to one report, a full 40,000 attended Bonnie Parker's funeral, a few miles away, in South Dallas.
Where is Billy the Kid buried? ›Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid July 14, 1881. Billy was buried the next day in Fort Sumner's old military cemetery, between his fallen companions Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. A single tombstone was later erected over the graves with a one word epitaph of “Pals” carved into it.
Who has owned Bonnie and Clyde's car? ›
After touring the country and parading through many major cities in the US, the car went to Ted Toddy and was sold to Primadonna Resorts Inc. in 1988 for $250,000.
What color is the real Bonnie and Clyde car? ›"When Bonnie and Clyde stole this vehicle from its owners, Jesse and Ruth Warren, they painted it a desert sand color over the original color of Cordoba gray to elude the law. When you open the trunk, you can see the original color of the car, Cordoba gray.