02/11/2026
The Pikeville Bank Robbery That Never Was
On Saturday October 7, 1910, at about 2:00 in the morning, there was an attempt to rob Peoples Bank in the sleepy little town of Pikeville. Three men managed to get into the bank building located across from the courthouse on Main Street, and blew open the big doors of the outer safe with nitroglycerine. The town was alarmed by all the blasting, and several gunshots that were fired at house lights to keep the citizens away. The Vaughn brothers who lived in town had been fox hunting, and passing by on the way home stopped and inquired what all the shooting was about. They were strongly advised to move on. The would - be robbers failed to get the inner safe open, so around 4:00 in the morning they gave up and headed north west out of town. Across the street Dr. James A. Ross had gotten out of bed and lit a lamp. One of the men rode past the house, shouted, “Put out that light!” and fired a warning shot through an upper window of the Ross home. When the house was restored in 1999, a copper clad 38 caliber bullet was found in the wall under windows on the south side. It is now in the collection of the Bledsoe Historical Society.
Deputy Sheriff Thomas J. Sullivan, who kept the jail located three minutes away, was quarantined at the jail and was unable to intervene. Sullivan was also the editor of the Pikeville Banner, and in his October, 13, article following the incident he failed to mention the reason for being quarantined, while reassuring the readers of his willingness to show up in the future. His readers must have believed him as he was elected sheriff in 1912. He did indicate that the robbers seemed to show more grit than judgement, and doubted the timing was accidental. From the viewpoint of history, Deputy Sullivan seems to show more judgement than grit, but additional research reveals that his daughter Minnie, aged eleven, had recently died from scarlet fever. Dr. Justin Lacy, who attended Minnie, probably quarantined the entire family, which included Florence A. Sullivan, mother of Minnie, Thomas, John, and Rose. She was also co-editor of the Banner and chief cook and bottle washer at the jail.
It must be noted that High Sheriff Willie N. Farmer was at home in the Cold Springs Community during the incident , the Vaughn brothers could not or would not identify either the culprits or their horses, and the bank was out several hundred dollars in repairs. As for the robbers, they got “clean away,” despite the best efforts of pedigreed blood hounds brought the next day from Chattanooga and “trailed around some.” Hopefully, the dogs got a nice train ride and a good meal for their efforts. Eventually the blame was placed on three strangers who had been hunting and fishing in the county and disappeared immediately after the robbery attempt. They were apparently after recent deposits of money from the local cattle sales.
For more information about the bad old days of Pikeville and Bledsoe County I recommend The Swafford and Tollett Feud, Moonshine Man: The Life of Church Lester, and Whiskey Wars: The Life of Jim Hamilton. This popular Bloody Bledsoe series, by Thomas V. Swafford , begins in the mid-1800s and ends in the 1930s. If you are into photographs, then Bledsoe County: A Pictorial History, Volumes 1 and 2 can take you back for a look- see.
Notes, Quotes, and Motes by: Carolyne L. Knight
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner
Source: The Pikeville Banner October 13, 1910, Sequatchie Valley News October 6, 1910. Quotes, Editor Thomas J. Sullivan
