BAHM Presents: November Lunch & Learn – The Search for Nip Vann

Our fall lecture series continues with a tantalizing tale of the search for a fugitive that spanned a quarter of a century. Andy Taylor, editor of the Montgomery County Chronicle, will be here to present “The Search for Nip Vann.” Taylor grew up in Caney and is a fifth-generation newspaper editor who currently resides in Independence, KS. 

Nip Vann was in the area shooting a movie with Tom Mix when he visited his hometown of Caney, KS, on November 12, 1913; he became inebriated and was arrested by the town marshal for disorderly behavior. Upon turning over his loaded gun, it accidentally went off and shot and killed the marshal. Thus began the search for Nip Vann.  

Taylor says, “Vann was chased across the world for 24 years by the cousin of the slain Caney city marshal. He was finally apprehended in Arizona in 1937 and brought back to Kansas to stand trial for the marshal’s death. What happened during and after the trial is what makes the ‘The Search for Nip Vann’ an intriguing, fascinating story that sounds too good to be true. But, it is.”

The Lunch & Learn will be held Thursday, November 17, from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Come early and enjoy the current exhibit in the Pioneer Gallery, Lawless Lands: Stories of the Wild, Wild Midwest. The presentation will begin at noon. Tables and chairs will be set up for attendees who want to bring their lunch, and little ones may enjoy a lawmen and outlaws coloring station.

The Museum is open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (closed on weekends and holidays) at 401 S. Johnstone Avenue, 5th Floor. Museum entry is free, but donations are always welcome. No reservation is necessary. If you have questions, you may reach Bartlesville Area History Museum staff at (918) 338-4290 or eat0@eau0eav0eaw0.