Northfield and Society get National Nod

TRUE WEST Magazine, in this October's 4th Annual Best of the West designations, put Northfield, the Historical Society and the Defeat Celebration front and Center. Congratuations Northfield!

Under Museums:
Northfield Historical Society Museum

Stand on the teller's side of the fully restored First National Bank in Northfield and imagine the day of the Great Northfield Raid. That year, in the "new" age of telephones, typewriters and elevators, local citizens had only read about brazen bank robberies. Little did they know…Hey, where else can visitors buy a Jesse James bobblehead?

Under Western Historical Sites:
First National Bank

Give a tip of the old Stetson to the Northfield Historical Society which, since taking over in 1975, has restored the building Hiram Scriver built in 1868 to its 1876 appearance. That's when the James and Younger brothers, and a few unlucky associates, tried to rob the bank and got shot to pieces.

Under Wild West Town:
Northfield

Any town that opened a can of whoop-ass on the James-Younger Gang gets our vote. That September 7, 1876, rout seemed as unlikely as Olympic hockey's "Miracle on Ice." Northfield keeps rubbing it in, too, with the annual "Defeat of Jesse James Days" festival, held the weekend after Labor Day.