Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum

 L.J “Boots” Hinton opened the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in 2005. “Boots” Hinton was the son of Dallas Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton, who was one of the lawmen that killed Bonnie and Clyde. The museum is located in the old Ma Canfield’s Café, which was the lst place Bonnie and Clyde visited alive. The museum features a large store front “ambush” sign riddled with cartoon bullet holes. It attracts families, but they are warned about gruesome photos before they enter to make sure that young children are protected.

Some of the artifacts of the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum are some of Clyde’s Remington shotguns that were pulled from the car after his death, a Browning semi-automatic used by the Barrow Gang, and a tire that Clyde stole and gave to an old man. There is also glass from the windshield of the death car as well as replicas of their tombstones. One wall of the museum displays a mural that recreates the moment of the ambush.

The Bonnie and Clyde car at the Ambush Museum is a replica. The current car, a 1934 V8 Ford riddled with bullet holes acts as a stand in. Inside the replica car are fake bloodied dummies of Bonnie and Clyde. The former car that used to reside at the museum was from the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde movie. It was moved in 2008 to a crime museum in D.C then to Pigeon Forge in 2016. The real death car and bloody clothes are at a Casino in Nevada. They were too expensive for the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum to purchase. The new owner Perry Carver, was a friend of L. J “Boots” Hinton and took over the museum after his retirement. Many of the items in the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum is from his own personal collection. Some of his collections also include film footage and photos taken immediately after the ambush.

Eight miles south on an isolated stretch of highway is a small stone monument that marks the death site. It was erected in 1972. It has been graffitied, gouged with axes, blasted with shotguns, and even pulled out of the ground on several occasions. 

Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum, Roadside America. Accessed November 17th 2020. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10864.

prodigymade. Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum, Atlas Obscura. Accessed November 17th 2020. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bonnie-and-clyde-ambush-museum.

Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum, Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum. Accessed November 17th 2020. https://bonnieandclydeambushmuseum.com/.

Streeter, Robert. Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum: A love story that ended in bullets, QC Life. Accessed November 17th 2020. https://qclife.wbtv.com/bonnie-clyde-museum/.

Prime, John Andrew. Changes ahead for Bonnie & Clyde museum, Shreveport Times. February 24th 2015. Accessed November 17th 2020. https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/entertainment/2015/02/24/changes-ahead-ambush-museum/23945989/.