The Wichita Falls Bank Robbery of 1896

 
On the afternoon of Feb. 25, 1896,
two cowboys, Foster Crawford
and Elmer "Kid" Lewis, robbed the
City National Bank, then located
at Ohio and 7th St. (2 blocks east).
They killed cashier Frank Dorsey,
took about $410 cash, and fled on
horseback. A posse of citizens and 
Texas Rangers captured the pair
that night hiding in a thicket
outside of town. The next day, 
after the Rangers departed, the
anger of the townspeople turned
to violence. On the night of Feb.
26, a mob dragged the prisoners
from the jail and lynched them 
in front of the bank building. (1978)

City National Bank building as it appeared between 1893 and 1910. 

     The marker was placed on the front wall of the City National building, 807 Eighth Street, rather than Seventh and Ohio streets where the robbery, murder, and lynching occurred. In May 1978, the chair of the Wichita County Historical Commission, Mrs. E. E. Clack, wrote that they would install the marker on Eighth Street to protect it from possible vandalism. The area around the former bank had by the 1970s deteriorated, and its safety was in question. The area has since experienced a Renaissance after successful revitalization efforts.

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      Location: 807 Eighth Street, Wichita Falls 76301. 
     GPS coordinates 33-degrees 54' 42.5" N 98-degrees 29' 32.2" W.​

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