Dexfield Park, Dexter, Iowa on Iowa's Historic Route 6. (Courtesy Dexter Museum, Dexter, Iowa.)
Dexfield Park, once Iowa's largest amusement park, thrived in Dexter, Iowa for approximately 18 years. By July 1933, it was an abandoned field off of Route 6, and the perfect place for bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow gang to take shelter and doctor their wounds following a major shoot-out at the Red Crown Hideout in Platte City, Missouri.
By this time the Barrow gang consisted of Bonnie and Clyde, Clyde's brother Buck--who was severely wounded in Platte City, Buck's wife Blanche, and a teenager named W.D. Jones.
Dallas County, Iowa Museum Assistant Rail Stray wrote: "A man named Henry Nye, out hunting wild blackberries on his property, came across the camp. He found a bloody map, a shirt with blood stains and used bandages. It seems that Mr. Nye was not the first to discover the camp of the Barrow gang. A troop of fourteen Girl Scouts led by Della Gowdey, camping at the old pavilion of the park, took an early morning hike and walked right into the Barrow Gang campsite. Maxine Schell "Hadley," a member of this troop, said the campers acted quite surprised. She had no idea who they were. Della and the other girls said good morning; Maxine remembered the campers smiled and returned the welcome.
Henry Nye contacted John Love and the two men returned to the park together. With binoculars, John could see two cars parked in the campground. He decided to contact Dallas County Sheriff Clint Knee and find out if any outlaws had been reported in the area. The Sheriff informed him of reports about the Barrow Gang being around. Not knowing if this was the Barrow Gang or not John Love told him to bring his "heavy artillery" and come to Dexter."
In the early morning of Monday, July 24, 1933 the Barrow gang was ambushed by a posse of approximately 50. Every member of the Barrow gang was injured during the firefight. Blanche Barrow was captured and jailed and her husband, Buck, died five days after the gun fight at Dexfield Park.
A wounded Bonnie and Clyde managed to escape on foot and steel a car to make their getaway from Dallas County.
A little less than a year later, only two of the Barrow gang would still be alive, and it wasn't Bonnie and Clyde.
Bonnie and Clyde. (Courtesy Dexter Museum, Dexter, Iowa.)
Make sure you visit the Dexter Museum in Dexter, Iowa on Historic Route 6 to get the complete Bonnie and Clyde story, see the amazing museum collection, and see the park where the Barrow Gang shootout took place.
Dexter, Iowa's history is featured in Fourth Wall Films' Emmy-nominated "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6".
Dexter, Iowa's history is featured in Fourth Wall Films' Emmy-nominated "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6".
To purchase the award-winning documentary, visit FourthWallFilms.com!
Stream the film at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/highway6movie.
You can also get the "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6" DVD at the fabulous Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, Iowa right on Historic Route 6!
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