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First train robbery in the United States at North Bend, Ohio

When
1865
Where
North Bend, Ohio
Episodes
1

On May 5, 1865, North Bend, Ohio, was the site of an early hold-up of a railway train. While often cited as the first train robbery in the United States, historical records classify the October 6, 1866, incident in Indiana as the first peacetime robbery, noting the 1865 event involved armed guerrillas shortly after the Civil War.

Episodes

  1. May 5, 1865 · North Bend, OhioNorth Bend Train Hold-Up

    An early hold-up of a railway train occurred in North Bend, Ohio, on May 5, 1865, shortly after the Civil War ended.

Background and detail

Background. North Bend is a village in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, incorporated in 1845. The event occurred on May 5, 1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Historical classifications distinguish this incident from the first peacetime train robbery, which occurred in October 1866, because the 1865 act was committed by armed guerrillas.

Historical Classification. The 1865 incident is not considered the first train robbery in the United States due to its timing shortly after the Civil War and the involvement of armed guerrillas. The first peacetime train robbery occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded an Ohio & Mississippi train near Seymour, Indiana.

Sources

  1. North Bend, Ohio Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
  2. Train robbery Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.