The Little-Known Story Of The First-Ever Train Robbery In Indiana Is Unlike Any Other
By Tori Jane|Published October 31, 2023
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Indiana is a place that is, honestly, much more interesting than anyone ever gives it credit for. It’s quite beautiful, and it’s got several fascinating points of interest – including historical ones – that many people don’t even know about. For example, did you know that the first train robbery in Indiana was literally the first train robbery? Yep. It’s one of my favorite “secret history” stories of the Hoosier State. Who knew history in Indiana was so much fun? Now you do.
The date was October 6, 1866. A passenger train headed eastbound on the Ohio-Mississippi Railroad was boarded by a small group of masked robbers.
Pointing guns at the unfortunate railroad employee they happened upon first, they demanded the keys to the safes onboard.
Unfortunately for them, said employee only had one set of keys for the local safe, so the robbers emptied it and threw the other overboard, fully intending to retrieve and crack it open later.
The robbers were the now-infamous Reno brothers (known as William, Simeon, John and Frank Reno), and once the men had successfully asked the engineer to stop the train, they escaped into the countryside with more than $16,000 (in 1866 money, this would have equaled just over $300,000).
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The robbery (which took place near Seymour, Indiana) was only the beginning; the brothers embarked on a spree of armed robberies across several different states, making themselves wealthier with every heist. Things were going well for them... at least for a while.
Pursued by law enforcement, the Reno brothers opted to split up and head to different states across the nation. John was caught and captured on December 4, 1867, and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor.
Despite John's arrest and conviction, the other three brothers continued their lives of debauchery, carrying out many more robberies in the months to come.
Other members of their posse were caught, tried, or worse, lynched - but the brothers themselves evaded capture.
In July 1868, Simeon and William were caught in Indianapolis and jailed elsewhere, though the threat of lynching from a furious populace was a risk. To avoid this, the men were transported overnight - at their sister's behest - to another jailhouse in New Albany.
Finally, Frank Reno was caught in Canada and extradited in early October, along with another man he'd been running from the law with. The Reno Gang was held at the New Albany jail to await trial. Townspeople feared that if they were hanged, the rest of their posse would surely burn the town to the ground. It didn't happen that way, of course, for vigilantes had other plans.
On December 12th, 1868, they stormed the jail and demanded the keys to the Reno boys' cells from the sheriff. When he refused, he was shot in the arm. Once he'd been shot, his wife handed the keys over (a very smart move, given the rage of the mob).
The vigilante group then stormed the jail, taking custody of Frank, William, and Simeon, plus one of their accomplices, and dragged them to the second story. The men were then hanged and their bodies displayed for the town as a morbid reassurance that the infamous Reno Gang was fact, snuffed out.
John, the only surviving member of the gang who'd been imprisoned in 1867, was released in 1878 and died at home in 1895... but not before just a few more criminal shenanigans that landed him in jail again, of course.
It’s a shame that so few people realize Indiana’s history as a wild place – we’ve been many things throughout the centuries, and some of the wilder stories from days long past are probably among my favorites. Did you know that the first train robbery occurred in Indiana? Now you do – you’re sure to win at some obscure trivia night now, and you’re welcome.
If you’re heading to Indiana to dip your toes in its history, feel free to check out some of the awesome tours and things offered by our friends at Viator – you never know what’s going on for history geeks in the Hoosier State. What are your favorite stories about Indiana’s history? Let me know!
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