A reader recently contacted me to ask whether I knew anything about Niangua (Webster County, MO). He said he'd heard about a bank robbery that took place there back in what might be called the heyday of bank robberies--the 1920s and 1930s. I told him that, having grown up in the Springfield area, I was familiar somewhat with Niangua and that my high school (Fair Grove) even used to play Niangua in basketball once in a while. But I really didn't know anything at all about the history of the place. So, I decided to see what I could find out.
The first thing I learned was that Niangua was established in 1870 as a station along the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and was named after the nearby Niangua River. Some sources say the place was originally called Miteomah, but this is not entirely accurate, because in 1874, Niangua was listed as a railroad station about six miles northeast of Marshfield and Miteomah as a post office about five miles northeast of Marshfield in Campbell's 1874 Gazetteer of Missouri. Apparently the post office later changed its name to Niangua, and the two places more or less merged.
Beyond these basic facts about Niangua's very early days, I also learned that not only did Niangua have a bank robbery, as the reader informed me, but it has also had at least three destructive fires of note in its history.
The first significant fire occurred on the night of May 23, 1891, when Niangua was "almost entirely destroyed by fire," according to the Marshfield Chronicle. The fire started in the Odd Fellows Hall between 11 p.m. and midnight, and by the time the blaze was discovered it had "gained such headway" that it was impossible to bring it under control. In addition to the Odd Fellows Hall, the fire destroyed the post office, the train depot, and at least two businesses, which comprised four buildings. Total loss was estimated at $10,000 or more, which was a pretty good sum in 1891.
On February 27, 1917, another big fire visited Niangua, completely destroying the town's main mercantile business, including a warehouse in addition to the main store. The buildings and the stock of goods lost were valued at about $16,000. Cause of the fire was not definitely known, but, based on the fact that witnesses had seen a strange car backed up to the store not long before the fire broke out and that certain undamaged goods were found outside the store where they had apparently been dropped, investigators conjectured that the place had been robbed and the fire had been deliberately started to try to cover up the crime.
Then on Saturday, May 17, 1941, three Niangua businesses were destroyed in what was called a "blast-blaze." An acetylene torch exploded in a garage, and the resulting fire raged for an hour and a half, spreading to two other businesses. In addition to the garage, a barber shop and a two-story drugstore were reduced to ashes. Since Niangua had no fire department at the time, a bucket brigade fought the blaze futilely until the flames reached an alley, where they burned themselves out. Total loss was estimated at $5,000 or more, and none of the businesses had insurance.
As for the bank robbery, it happened on October 31, 1928, but it was more than a Halloween prank. Two young men entered the Bank of Niangua shortly before closing time and, flourishing handguns, forced the cashier and his wife to help sack up all the silver and currency they could find in the drawers. The culprits made off with almost $4,000, escaping by automobile.
The cashier and his wife, who was the assistant cashier, gave authorities good descriptions of both bandits, and lawmen were quickly on their trail. Within 24 hours, E. M. Bumgarner, 35, of near Northview was arrested as the owner of the car that was identified as the getaway vehicle, and Louis Petty, whom the cashier had tentatively identified as one of the holdup men, was arrested while working in a cornfield on his farm west of Marshfield. Both Bumgarner and Petty had criminal records, with Petty, 25, having served two stints in the Missouri State Penitentiary.
Both suspects denied involvement in the Niangua bank robbery at first, but within a few days Petty broke down and gave a full confession, implicating both E. M." Jack" Bumgarner and Lawrence Bumgarner (a nephew of Jack). Petty said Lawrence, 24, was the other man who entered the bank with him. Lawrence was arrested on suspicion based on Petty's story, but he was soon declared innocent and released. Petty and Jack Bumgarner were given preliminary hearings, and both were bound over for trial. They were retained in jail when they were unable to make bail. Later, Lawrence Bumgarner was rearrested, and Petty's brother Roy was also arrested on suspicion of involvement in the robbery.
In mid-December, Petty and Jack Bumgarner escaped from the Webster County Jail at Marshfield, but they were soon recaptured. All four defendants went on trial in January 1929. Louis Petty was convicted and sentenced to 70 years in prison after he refused a plea deal that would have given him 45 years. Lawrence Bumgarner pled guilty and received 25 years. Roy Petty, charged with receiving part of the loot, was given a 3-year sentence. Jack Bumgarner was granted a change of venue to Pulaski County, and I have not yet learned the outcome of his case.
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