West Dallas 'Hood

The Barrows, a share cropper family from Ellis County, Texas, moved to Dallas in 1921 when they could no longer eke a living off their

farm. A very poor family, they didn't fare much better in West Dallas, an unincorporated area in the bottom lands of the Trinity river where

they lived in a tent under a bridge in a free campground.



The boys of the family soon turned to crime. Although they tried to "go straight", it seemed that the police patrolled West Dallas

constantly, not trusting the influx of poor, desperate newcomers. Henry Barrow, Clyde's father, opened a small gas station with the

proceeds he received from a lawsuit, and this became the Barrows' home.



Clyde (1909-1934) had already begun his less-than-stellar career as a petty criminal before he met Bonnie, having learned the "trade" from

his brother Buck. Clyde had previous girlfriends, even tattooing the initials of one (E.B.W) on his arm. Bonnie Parker (1910-1934), whose

family moved to Cement City (a company town close to West Dallas) from Rowena (Runnels County, Texas) after her father died, already

owned a romantic past as well. She married Roy Thorton, another criminal, when she was only 16. When Bonnie met Clyde at a mutual

friend's house (some sources say it was Bonnie's brother's house), Roy was doing time in prison.



Doin' Time

Clyde quickly followed him. Arrested while visiting Bonnie at her mother's house, Clyde was jailed in Waco for several burglaries. Bonnie

moved to a cousin's house in Waco to be closer to him. He convinced Bonnie to steal a gun from the house of a fellow inmate to help

him break free, and without hesitation Bonnie complied, concealing the weapon under her dress. This was the first indication of the

lengths Bonnie would go for her man.



The law soon caught up with Clyde after his successful jailbreak. Sentenced to the Eastham Prison Farm near Huntsville for 14 years, he

experienced such brutal treatment that his life changed forever. The prison was notorious for its ill treatment of prisoners, whom guards

would whip, shoot, and beat whenever the mood struck. Assaulted by a large trustee whom Clyde later bludgeoned to death, Clyde asked

another inmate to cut off two of his toes to avoid the back breaking labor that the prison forced him to do. He was transferred to the Walls

Unit in Huntsville, where his brother Buck, who had turned himself in as a favor to his new wife, Blanche, was living. Within weeks,

however, Clyde was paroled, as his mother had been working on an early release since his incarceration.



With the help of his family, Clyde tried to do good - even held a job- but with his prison record, he remained a constant target for the cops.

Also, the experience in a hardened prison like Eastham had changed Clyde so much that he couldn't stand doing honest work. He decided

to make crime his full-time occupation. He brought together several of his prison associates and West Dallas friends- Ralph Fults, Joe

Palmer, Raymond Hamilton, W.D. Jones - and together, with Bonnie, they formed the Barrow Gang. Several others joined in and dropped

out as time went on (most notably Henry Methvin, whose father would help the Texas Rangers track Bonnie & Clyde). The gang had really

only one goal in mind: to stage a raid on the despised Eastham Prison Farm.



Bonnie became Clyde's constant companion, although she never really participated in the crimes. She lived with him in hideouts and

later, after Clyde was wanted for murder, they lived in various stolen cars, constantly on the run. Bonnie wrote poetry to keep herself

busy.



Family Life?

In 1933, Bonnie, Clyde, and W.D. Jones tried to set up housekeeping in Joplin, Missouri when Clyde's brother Buck and his wife Blanche

came to visit. Buck had just been pardoned by the governor, and although Blanche was reluctant to visit the outlaws, she believed that

she could help them go straight. However, Buck joined the gang instead, robbing banks and stores in the surrounding area. When the

police caught up with them, a wild shootout ensued. The gang fled relatively unharmed, but two officers died. The lawmen found several

vital pieces of evidence in the apartment, among them the famous photo of Bonnie smoking a cigar, gun in hand. She later told a

kidnapped police officer that the picture had been taken as a joke.



That same year, as he drove another stolen car at break-neck speed across the Texas panhandle, Clyde didn't notice that a bridge over

the Red River was out. The car plunged into a ditch. Bonnie suffered severe burns to her legs and sides. Devoted Clyde and Blanche

took very good care of her, bandaging her legs and allowing her to rest at the Red Crown Tourist Camp in Platte City, Missouri. However,

local law enforcement became suspicious of the group and quickly identified them as the Barrow Gang.



A disastrous confrontation left the outlaws badly wounded, but they did escape. Buck had been shot in the head, Blanche's eyes had been

struck by flying glass, and Bonnie's burnt legs continued to cause her immense pain. Clyde drove for almost two days straight trying to

find a good hideout before settling on Dexfield Park in Iowa. When a farmer notified the police about suspicious activity at the campsite,

another gun battle took place. Although Bonnie & Clyde escaped, Buck and Blanche were caught. Buck died days later, and Blanche

received a prison term because she refused to rat out her kin. W.D. Jones quickly fled from the gang, wanting no more of the lifestyle.



Even with all the turmoil in their young lives, Bonnie & Clyde took grave risks to visit their families as often as they could, usually meeting

in out-of-the-way locations. They met in Deep East Texas, in Commerce, in secluded areas in West Dallas. During one clandestine meeting

in Irving, Texas, they narrowly avoided an ambush - they were only wounded in the knees.



Bonnie and Clyde. Courtesy Dallas Public Library, used with permission.



What Happened to...?

The "Death Car" - The rightful owner, a woman from Topeka, Kansas, collected the car in

Louisiana a few days after the ambush. She drove it home, no doubt with the windows open

because the interior hadn't been cleaned after the shootout (can you even imagine!) It sat

sold numerous times before landing in the hands of the Primm Valley Resort and Casino in

Primm, Nevada, where it is now on display - complete with bullet holes, blood and gore.



Henry Methvin - Although his father helped him get a lighter sentence in Texas, Oklahoma

didn't honor the plea bargain, since he was wanted in the murder of Deputy Campbell in

Commerce. He served for 10 years, constantly fearing retaliation for his unwitting role in

delivering Bonnie & Clyde to authorities. He died in Louisiana in 1949 when a train cut him

in two.



W.D. Jones - He stayed in jail for a 15 years, although he maintained that Bonnie & Clyde

forced him to participate in the gang. He later lived in Houston, granting an insightful

interview with Playboy in 1968, a year after the movie "Bonnie & Clyde" debuted. He was

found murdered in 1974.



Blanche Barrow - During her ten years in a Missouri prison, she remained in contact with

the Barrow family and was considered a model prisoner. After her release, she remarried

and tried to forget her painful past, although she did write a memoir about her life. She

died quietly and is buried in Dallas under her married name.



Raymond Hamilton - The state of Texas dubbed him a habitual criminal, sentencing him to

over 200 years in prison. He was convicted in the murder of prison guard Major Crowson

and, after escaping death row with friend Joe Palmer, died in 1935, a victim of Ol' Sparky.

He is buried in a Dallas cemetery.



Frank Hamer and Ted Hinton - After years working as a Ranger and strike buster, Frank

Hamer died in his sleep in 1955. Ted Hinton wrote Ambush in the 1970s.



Tools of the Trade

The Barrow Gang was noted and feared for their arsenal of weapons. They stole state of the art guns, like the Browning Automatic Rifle

(B.A.R.) and Colt .45's, from National Guard Arsenals in Enid, Oklahoma and from the Red River Army Depot near Texarkana, Texas. Clyde

also devised his own weapon which was called a "scattergun." He'd saw off the barrel of a B.A.R. and welded the ammo clips. His weapons

proved infinitely superior to the arms of the law enforcement officers who only used pistols or, as was the case for rural authorities, their

own hunting rifles. Clyde also favored Ford V8's as his getaway cars, because of their handling and speed. He was a very skilled driver,

often speeding in excess of 70 miles an hour down dirt roads - and out of sight of sheriff deputies. Clyde allegedly wrote a letter to the

Ford Motor Company lauding their vehicles.



The Victims

The victims of the Barrow Gang numbered eleven. Although Clyde did not have a hand in killing all of these men, he either

present or was the ring leader of the gang members who pulled the triggers.



John Bucher - (Hillsboro, TX, 1932). Clyde maintained that Raymond Hamilton killed the shopkeeper.



Eugene Moore - (Atoka, OK, 1932). Moore was a police officer who wanted to see if the men in the car (Clyde and Raymond Hamilton) were

drinking moonshine outside of a dance hall.



Howard Hall - (Sherman, TX, 1932). Shopkeeper/butcher. This was Clyde's first direct, intentional murder (except for the killing of the

Eastham Prison trustee.) Some historians dispute that Clyde did this killing, though.



Doyle Johnson - (Temple, TX, 1932). Killed as he was trying to stop Clyde from stealing his car. W.D. Jones fired the fatal shot.



Malcolm Davis. (Dallas, TX, 1933). A sheriff's deputy, Davis and his companions were waiting on the outlaws at the home of Lillian McBride

in West Dallas when Clyde shot him pointblank.



Harry McGinis. (Joplin, MO, 1933). One of the two officers killed in the Joplin, MO garage apartment shootout.



Wes Harryman - (Joplin, MO, 1933). The other officer killed in the shootout at the garage apartment. .



Henry Humphrey - (Alma, AK, 1933). Killed by W.D. Jones and Buck Barrow.



Major Crowson - (Huntsville, TX, 1934). The mounted guard at Eastham Prison whose death spurred the governor to action.



E.B. Wheeler - (Grapevine, TX, 1934). One of the two officers killed on a country road on Easter Sunday.



H.D. Murphy - (Grapevine, TX, 1934). The other officer killed on Easter. It is debated whether Clyde or Henry Methvin instigated the

shooting.



Cal Campbell - (Commerce, OK, 1934). A constable from Miami. Their last victim on their desperate run from the law.



Traveling History

The TEXAS RANGERS MUSEUM in Waco, Texas has several artifacts from the Barrow Gang, mainly weapons and license plates. Located

right off I35.



The PRIMM RESORT & CASINO in Primm, Nevada, displays the "Death Car." Located on I15 at the California/Nevada state line. Call

705-386-7867 for more information.



Bonnie's grave was moved in 1945 to the CROWN HILL cemetery in Central Dallas, on Webb Chapel Road. The grave is southwest of the

mausoleum, behind a high hedgerow. It can be viewed daily while the sun's up.



Clyde's grave is located in the WESTERN HEIGHTS cemetery on Fort Worth Drive in West Dallas. This is a small, intimate burial ground with

many German tombstones.



GIBSLAND and ARCADIA Louisiana host Bonnie & Clyde days in May of every year, complete with reenactments. On the lonely road where

the outlaws breathed their last, a marker has been erected to commemorate the event. Some people say the road is haunted... Call the

Chamber of Commerce at (318)263-9897 for more information.



The Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, Louisiana, is located in the old Cranston Cafe, where Bonnie and Clyde ate their last

meal.



The STAR SERVICE STATION (a.k.a. the Barrow gas station) is still sitting on Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas. It's now a tire repair shop.

The house that Henry Barrow attached is also there.



The DALLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY sponsors the very popular "Bonnie & Clyde Tour," visiting their hideouts, houses, murder sites, graves,

and jails. This fun trip is narrated by John Neal Phillips, who wrote the authoritative book, "Running with Bonnie and Clyde." See

dallashistory.org for details.



EASTHAM PRISON FARM still stands, although it is no longer used - just a ghostly shell remains. Of course it's haunted! (You had to ask?)

The State of Texas- Department of Corrections has created a great museum in Huntsville. You can visit the old electric chair...just make

sure not to sit down. Located off I45, exit 118. Call 936-295-2155 for more information or visit txprisonmuseum.org .



The house that Bonnie and Clyde lived in for a few weeks in JOPLIN, MISSOURI still stands on 34th Street. It has been renovated, so there

aren't any bullet holes to see. The house survived the devastating F5 tornado in 2011.



Floor of the now-gone Conger Furniture Store and Funeral parlor. After the ambush, Bonnie and Clyde were taken here to visit the coroner.



The Lonely Roads of Bonnie and Clyde



Pano's Diner (now closed) is in downtown Shreveport. This is where Bonnie, Clyde, and Henry Methvin lost track of each other a few days before

the ambush.



The truss bridge at Wellington, Texas, was built in the 1930s. No bridge existed when Clyde zoomed by, ignoring warning signs that the bridge

was out. He crashed the car, which severely injured Bonnie. W.D. Jones was with them during this incident.



Visit more photos of Bonnie and Clyde's Haunts!



Dexter, Iowa is the site of the gang's Waterloo.



The infamous Joplin Hideout survived the deadly Joplin F5 Tornado in 2011.



Questions or comments? E-mail me: robin@redriverhistorian.com



Ask the average person about Bonnie & Clyde and most likely, any information they supply will be from the

ground breaking 1967 movie. So what's true, and what's fiction? Lemme fill you in.



Fame and Death

Their plan to raid the prison farm was accomplished on January 16, 1934. During the siege, in which mounted guard Major Crowson was

killed, Clyde freed his friends Raymond Hamilton, Joe Palmer and Henry Methvin. Raymond and Clyde became bitter enemies, however,

when Raymond hid some cash after a bank robbery. Both went their separate ways - Raymond later dying in the electric chair.



The raid on the prison farm, coupled with the killing of two police officers in Grapevine on Easter Sunday, 1934, sealed the couple's fates.

Although Henry Methvin was a murderer, his father arranged for leniency with the courts if he could deliver Bonnie & Clyde to Texas

Ranger Frank Hamer and his posse, who had been summoned by the governor of Texas to bring down the outlaws.



On May 23, 1934, as Bonnie and Clyde drove down a dusty road outside of Gibsland, Louisiana, the laws ambushed them in a volley of gun

fire that shot Bonnie & Clyde to pieces.



The loud claps of gunfire awakened this sleepy area of lumberjacks and villages. Hundreds of people came out to see what had

happened, and when the crowds realized that Bonnie and Clyde had been killed, they went a little frantic. The newspapers had made the

couple out to be larger than life, but in death, they looked tiny and shattered.



The death scene became a media circus, with souvenir hunters vying for pieces of the dead couple - including body parts (one misguided

soul even tried to cut off Clyde's trigger finger). The "death car", a tan 1934 Ford, still held the pair as they were wheeled into town of

Arcadia for the coroner to examine the bodies. Onlookers climbed on top of each other to watch the examination.



They were brought back home where their funerals were attended by hundreds of curious Dallasites. Bonnie had wanted to be buried

next to Clyde but her mother refused. So she was laid to rest in the old Fishtrap Cemetery in West Dallas (she was later moved to Crown

Hill Memorial Park), and Clyde was buried next to his brother Buck in a cemetery along Fort Worth Avenue. The run of the most romantic

and dangerous of outlaws in American history finally ended.



The Bonnie and Clyde "death car" now resides inside Whiskey Pete's, a casino in Primm Valley, Nevada



Clyde's "death shirt" is also on exhibit inside the rather sad surroundings at Whiskey Pete's.



From the exhibit card: "Clyde made ths necklace for his younger

sisters Marie while he was in Eastham Prison, just outside of

Huntsville, Texas. The Barrows were a very close family, and they

often visited Clyde in prison, as did Bonnie. Sentenced to fourteen

years on two counts of car robbery and five counts of burglary along

with Barrow Gang member Ralph Fults, Clyde was paroled after less

than two years in February 2 1932. He returned home a bitter and

angry young man.



The back of Clyde's "death shirt" shows damage from exiting

bullets. The "death" items were acquired by the casino via a

number of auctions and deals. The "death car," for example, was

owned by a collector of gangster memorabilia in Florida whose

collection was sold off by his widow. To get a look at the ambush's

aftermath in 1934, watch the newsreel with footage taken by

ambush posse member Ted Hinton.



Nice and Morbid: a letter from Bonnie's funeral director about what he experienced before Bonnie's funeral.

(Southern Methodist University Archives)



Mounted guards at Eastham Prison Farm during the 1930s (City of Huntsville).

