Clyde Barrows Stop at the First National Bank of Lawrence

The building at 746 Massaschutes Street is one of the best-hidden gems in Lawrence, Kansas. The location has been housed numerous things such as national. banks, Kansas film schools, restaurants, and has even been home to a famous American robbery. The robbery started Clyde Barrow of the Bonnie and Clyde gangs robbing career.

In March of 1932, 746 Massachusetts Street was home of the First National Bank at the time had one of its most famous visitors. Clyde Barrow, the male counterpart of famous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, walked through the door and robbed the place. Clyde was accompanied by fellow robbers Ralph Fults and Raymond Hamilton. The trio was in Lawrence, Kansas due to the weather up North being too rough to drive the getaway car. One of them remembered Lawrence, and they decided to head here. This location's memory needs to be preserved as it is home to where famous bank robber Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde started his career by stealing a total of half a million dollars in today's money

The trio of robbers checked into the Eldridge hotel on a March Day where they scoped out the First National Bank for two days debating if it was worth robbing. According to Fults' autobiography, the trio's main worry was how busy the bank was. On their first day in town, they sent one of them to go inside to break a bill. By doing so they had found out the bank had only one guard. They still felt uneasy due to the busyness of the bank. They also saw the bank president William Docking walking into the bank at 8:45 am with the other employees coming into work about ten minutes after him. On their second day in town, they saw the bank president right on cue at 8:45 am again. In seeing this, they knew when to rob the bank. On their third day in town, they saw the bank's president right on schedule and they leaped into action. Clyde Barrow and Ralph Fults entered and robbed First National bank while Raymond Hamilton kept the car running at the corner of 8th and Massachusetts Street. Clyde and Ralph rushed the bank with shotguns, Clyde got the bank president to open the vault while Ralph dealt with employees that were coming into work. They got away with two big sacks of cash and their hostages were locked in the bank vault. The trio drove 4 hours without stopping until they ended up in East St. Louis with a take of 33,000 dollars. In today's money that is equal to about half a million dollars.

The history behind this event has not always been known. When the space that is now Merchants was Teller’s restaurant, a man by the name of Ray Souza (a retired KU professor) asked the previous owner of the space if “he knew his restaurant was the site where Clyde Barrow started his robbing career.” As of now, there are only three published books that tell the story of how Barrow got into the bank-robbery business by robbing the First National Bank of Lawrence in 1932. However, all the information for all three books relies on Ralph Fults' biography. John Neal Phillips wrote Fults’ autobiography after interviewing the felon off-and-on for about 13 years. Phillips told the Journal-World that Fults clearly remembered the Lawrence job. Phillips said, “Ralph was absolutely crystal clear it was Lawrence. Everything else Ralph ever told me about his time with Barrow checked out. Fults’ word is all that we must go on." There is no evidence at all from that day that suggests the bank was even robbed. There is no police report or newspaper account. It is likely no account of this ever happening due to people agreeing to keep it a secret. Bill Docking is the president and CEO of the Union State Bank in Arkansas City. In 1932, his great-grandfather, William Docking, was the president of the First National Bank of Lawrence. Bill believes his great-grandfather did not want news of the bank robbery becoming public. In 1932, the (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) the FDIC was not yet created. This means people’s bank deposits were not federally insured against loss. The other theory goes that the bank was concerned that if the public learned about the robbery, there might be a run on the bank by nervous depositors. This FDIC reason is the most logical reason, according to the Lawrence historical society.

The building itself is nine years younger than the town of Lawrence. This space has been home to many other retail spaces and was even owned by the University of Kansas Film Department. This building is a landmark in Lawrence as well as a historic building. The building has withstood multiple renovations over the years and has even seen a fire break out within its walls. However, this sight remains to be a place of memory in Lawrence. This space is still functioning today and is a restaurant, Merchants Pub and Plate has been serving customers since 2013. This space honors the memory of Clyde Barrow by having a picture of him near the bathroom that used to be the original bank vault

Lawhorn, Chad. Famous criminal Clyde Barrow may have gotten start robbing banks in Lawrence, Lawrence World Journal. September 19th, 2011. Accessed November 22nd, 2021. https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/sep/18/famous-criminal-clyde-barrow-may-have-gotten-start/.

Guinn, Jeff. The Spectacularly Incompetent Bonnie And Clyde, D Magazine. April 1st 2009. Accessed November 21st 2021. https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2009/april/the-spectacularly-incompetent-bonnie-clyde/3/.

Jordan Arnold, Grant Heiman, and Hannah Saxton. 746 MASSACHUSETTS STREET, Explore Lawrence. January 1st 2017. Accessed October 19th, 2021. https://www.explorelawrence.com/things-to-do/history-heritage/block-by-block/700-block/746-massachusetts-street/.

KPR (Kansas Public Radio) Staff. Crime Doesn't Pay, Kansas Public Radio . January 19th 2018. Accessed October 21st 2021. https://kansaspublicradio.org/blog/kpr-staff/crime-doesnt-pay-january-19-2018.