A Local Legend: Bonnie and Clyde

This Saturday, October 14, marks Pilot Point’s 8th Annual Bonnie and Clyde Days festival. For this post, we wanted to dive into Bonnie and Clyde’s ties to Denton County- both during the pair’s years of crime in the 1930s, and three decades later when the stories about their escapades became a blockbuster.

The infamous Bonnie & Clyde.

A String of Crimes in North Texas

Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were notorious for their crime sprees in Denton County (and across the country) in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. The couple and their gang members had several ties to North Texas and spent quite a bit of time here causing trouble. The group used the Denton County Farm-to-Market Roads to travel back and forth unseen between their Lake Dallas hideout and the cities of Denton, Dallas, Prosper, and Celina.

It is said that one of Clyde’s first real crimes took place in Denton. In October of 1929, Clyde and his gang stole a safe from the Motor Mark Garage gas station located a few blocks from the Denton Square on West Oak Street. While police caught Clyde’s two accomplices, Clyde escaped with the safe.

During a later occurrence in April of 1932, the gang had planned to rob two banks, Denton County National Bank and Exchange National Bank on the Denton Square. Before the robbery, gang member Ralph Fults took a walk around the Courthouse-on-the-Square scanning the cars and groups of people to make sure everything was ready for the robbery. He noticed an armor plated car with two Texas Rangers sitting in it to guard the banks, and so the group called off the robbery and abandoned their plan.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow

Denton County on the Big Screen

In 1967, Warner Brothers Studios released Bonnie and Clyde, a film about the pair starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. One of Denton County’s claims to fame is that the movie’s infamous bank robbery scene was filmed in downtown Pilot Point.

Setting up for filming at the Farmer’s & Merchants Bank in Pilot Point.

The Farmer’s & Merchants Bank sits prominently on the Pilot Point town square. Though it was never actually robbed by Bonnie and Clyde, the historic bank building’s architecture made a great set for the movie. When the Bonnie and Clyde film was released, Denton’s iconic Campus Theatre served as the location for the southwestern premiere of the movie.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Bonnie and Clyde Days

Pilot Point now holds an annual Bonnie and Clyde Days festival to commemorate and reenact the filming of the bank robbery scene at the Farmer’s & Merchants Bank. This year, the 8th Annual Bonnie and Clyde Days is scheduled for Saturday, October 14. The reenactment, complete with gangsters and police squad cars, occurs at 12 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. (Be sure to look for our Curator of Exhibits, Joe Duncan, as Clyde!)

During the all-day event, Pilot Point embraces small town 1930’s era family fun! This year, festival attendees can step back in time to enjoy the Model A and Classic Car Show, performances from the UNT Jazz Quartet, performances from the Denton Community Theater’s cast of “Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical,” and Peanut Thrashing

Demonstrations. Visitors can also cheer on participants during the Cabinet Makers Soap Box Challenge and the Old Fashioned Pie Eating Contest.

For more information on the festival, visit bonnieandclydedays.org

---

Information and photos in this blog were pulled from the Denton County Office of History and Culture’s records and John Neal Philips’ book “Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults.” To learn more about Bonnie and Clyde, come visit us at the Courthouse-on-the-Square!