Three Days in Dakota, the James Brothers Escape from Northfield at the Old Courthouse Museum

Three Days in Dakota, the James Brothers Escape from Northfield is a presentation of what was once the largest manhunt in U. S. history. After the Northfield bank robbery, Frank & Jesse James fled across southern Minnesota and into Dakota Territory before making their way back into Missouri. Detailed maps will show their documented stops along the way.

For presenter Russ Swanson, what started as a search for the original homesteader of one of his horse pastures led to the discovery that the James brothers stole a horse from that very pasture as they passed through Canton in 1876. Using documentation of the event through the Library of Congress, the James brothers’ flight across Minnesota and Dakota Territory has been tracked.