Northampton Bank robbery

Background. In 1874, the Northampton Bank hired the safe manufacturer Herring & Co. to install a new lock on the vault. Separately, in 1874 the bank decided to increase its security by installing a new cylinder pin-tumbler lock on the vault. In 1875, George Leonidas Leslie copied the key to the vault and to the bank and gave them to the Rufus Gang.

Execution. On the morning of January 25, 1876, Thomas Dunlap and Robert Scott were witnessed in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Albert Holt, paymaster of the Boston and Albany railroad company. The robbery of the Northampton Bank took place on January 26, 1876. Afterward, Dunlap, Scott, Connors, and Edson returned to Northampton and decided not to retrieve the securities from the school, as police were everywhere in the town; the sources do not date this return precisely, and the school's location is not specified.

Aftermath. The robbery was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history at the time, with 75 depositors losing their money. The total theft was $1.6 million, equivalent to $26 million in 2019. The event involved key figures like George Leonidas Leslie, who planned the robbery but did not participate on the day.