‘Dalton Days’ returns to Gregg County Historical Museum, spotlighting infamous bank robbery

LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — The Gregg County Historical Museum held its annual Dalton Days event on Saturday, and with it, the annual Wild West Show.

The festival began Saturday morning with the first of four live re-enactments of the city’s infamous bank robbery, which originally took place on May 23, 1894. The performances are intended to emphasize bravery and the heroism of citizens and law enforcement in Longview. That day.

According to the Gregg County Historical Museum, the initial incident involved Bill Dalton and three members of his gang robbing the First National Bank, triggering a shootout that left three people dead, including one of the gang members. In what the museum calls “one of the greatest firefights in the Old West”, some 200 shots were fired by outlaws and townspeople responding to the heist.

Dalton Days has been a tradition in Longview since 1994, with children’s games, food vendors, crafts, a petting zoo and Western-style entertainment to celebrate Western heritage.

This year, as in the past, Western-style entertainment included the Harvest Moon Country weed band on the LMFA Stage in the Sculpture Garden, as well as craftsmen and craftsmen such as a blacksmith, a soap maker, a lumber, chuck cart demonstrations, root beer lounge and many more.