Spectators watch as Thomas Dean gives a blacksmithing demonstration in April 2024 at Dalton Days in downtown Longview. (Les Hassell/Longview News-Journal File Photo)

Editor’s note: Because of expected inclement weather Saturday, event organizers urge people to check the Gregg County Historical Museum’s social media pages for updates.

Wild West thespians are going to let the bullets fly (blank rounds, of course) Saturday during the 31st annual reenactment of a deadly chapter in Longview’s history.

The Gregg County Historical Museum’s Dalton Days festival in downtown Longview will give people of all ages a chance to learn about one of the bloodiest Old West bank robberies in a safe, family-friendly way. And there’s a message behind the annual reenactment: “Crime doesn’t pay,” said Jack Lanier, a former law enforcement officer who participates in the event.

The event takes place in front of the Gregg County Historical Museum, 214 N. Fredonia St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The annual event isn’t meant to glamorize gore and evil, but rather to honor heroism and valor — that on the part of the Longview law officers and residents who fought the dastardly Dalton Gang after the robbery of the First National Bank in downtown on May 23, 1894.

Legendary do-badder Bill Dalton and his cronies bilked the bank for roughly $2,000, but a gunfight with townsfolk ensued. More than 200 shots were fired, and when the smoke cleared, one outlaw and three Longview residents were dead.

Nevertheless, the gang members met their match — or their Maker — soon thereafter. Dalton was killed two weeks later by a posse in Oklahoma, and his fellow crooks were killed or captured.

March Welch, president of the Gregg County Historical Museum’s board, said the bank robbery and ensuing gunfight are some of the most historically significant events in the county’s history. It also marked the end of an era: As Old West criminals faded into history, figures such as Bonnie and Clyde filled their place, giving rise to organized crime.

Gunfight reenactments will take place at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Longview-area community members will dress up in western garb and play the roles of various townsfolk, robbers and residents. Everyone using a gun is trained in safety and reenactment accuracy, Welch said.

The Dalton Days event also features food trucks, vendors, live entertainment and games for children.

Lanier, a former Longview police officer, will play the part of Sheriff Jack Howard, who was Gregg County’s sheriff at the time of the robbery and took part in the gunfight. He makes clear that the event is “not a celebration of a bank robbery,” but a lesson.

“People who commit crimes are eventually going to pay,” he said. “Some pay dearly with their lives.”