The Great Santa Claus Bank Robbery - Cisco, TX
N 32° 23.308 W 098° 58.772
14S E 501924 N 3583496
Simple neon sign at the entry to what used to be the First National Bank of Cisco, the target of a December 23, 1927 bank robbery where the leader of the gang donned a Santa Claus suit as a disguise. Perfect disguise given the holiday, right?
Waymark Code: WMF7CP
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/05/2012
Views: 12
Wrong. Little did Marshall Ratliff realize that his Santa Claus disguise would attract children, whom he had to shake before he and his men could begin their operation. To make a long story short, it went all downhill from there, people were killed, getaway cars ran out of gas and the stolen money abandoned, and Ratliff himself was lynched after a failed jailbreak in 1928. The Wikipedia link provided has more details.
Previously, the old bank was used as an auto parts store, but they have since moved on. It's not clear what the future holds here, but the doors to the old bank advertise a budding museum, as well as the Big Country Dinner Theater (
visit link) who have done performances based on this famous event.