Reno Gang’s Reign Of Terror

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The Civil War was not yet over when John and Frank Reno returned to Rockford in 1864. Former bounty jumpers recruited by the Renos began to migrate into Jackson County along with other miscreants enlisted by John in his travels after deserting from the Federal Army. Assorted counterfeiters, thieves and robbers formed a criminal confederation under the leadership of the eldest Reno brothers, Frank and John. Sim eventually joined the gang, as did William, who was still a teenager. The second youngest brother, Clinton, and his sister, Laura, apparently never entered into the illegal activities of their siblings. ‘Honest Clint,’ as he was called, stayed in Jackson County while the Reno Gang operated. Circuit court records show he was arraigned in February 1880 for ‘keeping a gaming house,’ but there is no disposition listed for the case. He may have later migrated to Iowa and died there. Laura may not have broken the law, but she always stuck by her brothers. The Renos and their confederates made their headquarters in the burned-out buildings of Rockford and hid out in the dense thickets along the White River north of town. In late 1864, Frank and two gang members — Grant Wilson and a man named Dixon — robbed the post office and Gilbert’s Store in nearby Jonesville and were shortly apprehended by U.S. marshals. They were arraigned, posted bond and were released with a trial date pending.

Things began to heat up in Jackson County in 1865 as post office robberies took place in Dudleytown and Seymour, along with several burglaries of businesses and a home invasion involving the wife of a Union soldier still off to war. Wilson, arrested for the Jonesville robberies, turned state’s evidence, implicating Frank Reno. But he was murdered before he could testify, and Frank was later acquitted. A hotel in Seymour, the Rader House, became a haven for the Reno brothers and their henchmen, and many travelers who stayed there left penniless, their rooms burglarized. The July 27, 1865, issue of the Seymour Times issued a warning to visitors of the area to ‘be wary of thieves and assassins that infest the place.’ On August 3, the same paper ran an editorial that condemned lawlessness in Jackson County and called for vigilante action to restore order. ‘Nothing but Lynch law will save the reputation of this place and its citizens,’ declared editor Dr. J.R. Monroe.

The year 1866 began with the murder of a Rader House guest whose beheaded body was found floating in the White River. The Cortland post office was held up on January 11, and more murders followed, one each in February and July. In the months after the Civil War, southern Indiana had become a hotbed for Copperheads, Southern sympathizers who supported the reconstruction of the South. State elections were coming up on October 9, and anger against the Reno Gang was replaced by hatred for the Copperheads, who were thought to be importing voters from nearby Kentucky to help elect pro-South legislators. The time was ripe for a new depredation by the Renos, and they obliged. Their next crime was said to be unprecedented — the first peacetime express car robbery — although an argument can be made for an Ohio & Mississippi train robbery at North Bend, Ohio, on May 5, 1865, less than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Exactly who was responsible for that holdup has never been determined (see ‘Western Lore’ in the October 1995 Wild West). In any case, the Reno brothers are generally credited with opening the door to the train robbery era, which featured Jesse and Frank James and later Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

At about 6:30 p.m. on October 6, 1866, an Ohio & Mississippi train left the depot at Seymour, slowly traveling east out of town. Three Reno Gang members — most likely John and Sim Reno, along with Frank Sparks — had boarded the train at the station. Once the train was a few miles out of town, the trio of men made their way from the coach, across the platform to the Adams Express Co. car, and forced their way inside. Messenger Elam Miller gave up his keys at gunpoint. The masked robbers opened the small local depot safe, which contained the packages picked up at the various stations en route. They obtained, according to Jackson County Court records, ‘one safe the value of Thirty Dollars, Three Canvas Bags of the value of One Dollar Each, Ten Thousand Dollars in Gold Coin and Thirty Three Dollars in Bank Notes.’ They attempted to open the larger through safe, containing valuables shipped from St. Louis, but failed, and the terrified messenger told the outlaws that he was unable to open it. The robbers slugged the messenger and then rolled the large safe to the door of the express car.

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