Ambush at McKinney
McKinney, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
IN THE EARLY 1930s, THE BARROW GANG COMMITTED ROBBERIES AND OTHER CRIMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ALTHOUGH THE GANG WAS INFAMOUS FOR ITS LEADERS, BONNIE AND CLYDE, TWO OTHER MEMBERS, RAYMOND HAMILTON AND RALPH FULTS, WERE EQUALLY DANGEROUS. IN 1935, AFTER BONNIE AND CLYDE HAD BEEN KILLED, HAMILTON AND FULTS ROBBED THE BEAUMONT ARMORY AND HID THEIR LOOT WITH A BOOTLEGGER NEAR McKINNEY. ON FEB. 24, 1935, THE TWO MEN DROVE THROUGH COLLIN COUNTY TO PICK UP THE STOLEN GOODS. AS THEY CROSSED A CULVERT OFF OF THE HIGHWAY NORTH OF McKINNEY, THEY WERE AMBUSHED BY COLLIN COUNTY OFFICERS. ALTHOUGH HAMILTON WAS SHOT, THEY BOTH MANAGED TO ESCAPE, ABANDONING THEIR STOLEN FORD COUPE IN WESTON.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the depths of the Great Depression the Barrow Gang—infamous for Bonnie and Clyde—terrorized the region, but two other members, Raymond Hamilton and Ralph Fults, were just as dangerous. In 1935, after Bonnie and Clyde were dead, the pair robbed the Beaumont Armory and stashed the loot near McKinney. Returning to collect it that February, they were ambushed by Collin County officers at a culvert north of town; though Hamilton was shot, both escaped, ditching their stolen Ford coupe in Weston.
Why it matters
It captures the automobile-age outlaw era that gripped the American public imagination during the Depression, when fast cars and rural highways made bandits hard to catch.
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Related people
- · Raymond Hamilton
- · Ralph Fults
Themes & tags
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