Infamous criminals exhibit opens today at SCHM

Stephens County Historical Museum is hosting an exhibit opening at 6:30 p.m. today.

“Wanted: Dead or Alive” is a photography exhibit featuring some of Oklahoma’s most infamous criminals. It is on loan from the Oklahoma Historical Society and will be revealed at tonight’s event, said SCHM Director Cova Williams.

As part of the exhibit opening, Williams secured a speaker to talk about the Marlow Brothers.

Professor Travis Childs from Cameron University will share history of the Marlow Brothers. Five photos of them will be displayed, courtesy of Kyle Collins of Marlow.

There’s nearly 40 Images which include notorious names in history like the Doolin and Dalton Gangs and Ma Barker. This exhibit will showcase stories not as well known. Most of the featured outlaws were born and raised in Oklahoma or moved here and began a life of crime.

“There’s even a man from Duncan who escaped Alcatraz,” she said. Ralph Roe was an Oklahoma bank robber who was captured in 1933 after a shootout with local police. The history of Roe is included in the exhibit.

Images are from the University of Oklahoma Western History Collections, the National Archives, and even from the archives of OHS, private lenders and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Everything from mugshots to crime scene locations and more, these images span more than 70 years, from before statehood in 1907 through the late 1950s.

The event and the exhibit are free. Exhibit will be on display for two months.

For information, call Williams at the museum, 580-252-0717. Stephens County Historical Museum is located in Fuqua Park, SH 81 and Beech. It is the large gray WPA rock building, east of KiddieLand.