Thomas Isaac Mills and Jesse James Connections

Frank and Jessie James "careers" lasted from   1863-1882.


Outlaws Frank and Jesse James were rumored to have stayed with Thomas Isaac Mills in the little cabin/courthouse in Mena back in the 1870's. Thomas Isaac Mills was a judge from 1874-1878, the James brothers hid a cache of gold near Polk County in 1874.

So it is very possible there is some truth to the rumor that the James Brothers did hideout with Judge Thomas Mills in Mena, Polk Co. Arkansas.

It was also during this time that 3 of Judge Mills sons were running into problems with the law.  
It is very possible that the James brothers and the Mills brothers may have run in the same circle during this time.

*I will continue to look into the ties between the James brothers and the Mills brothers to try and find documentation of their connection.


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  Below from the website http://www.knightsofthegoldencircle-kgc.com/JessesHideout.ht
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POLK COUNTY, ARKANSAS:

THE TOWN OF MENA HAS A HISTORY WITH JESSE JAMES AS REPORTS HAVE BEEN MADE OF SOME OUTLAW LOOT BEING BURIED OUTSIDE OF MENA. THERE WAS A DISCOVERY OF GOLD COINS MADE IN 1998 BY TWO BROTHERS FROM CALIFORNIA. THERE ARE ALSO MORE REPORTS ABOUT OTHER OUTLAW CACHES IN THIS AREA.

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http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=13934

A Wild Bunch Cache

They say that a member of the Wild Bunch named Harvey Logan hung out around Mena and that he buried a large cache of gold coins that were never recovered. Looking on the internet it appears that Mena was founded around 1896 as a railway town. Prior to this there is suppose to be yet another incident involving an outlaw gang and an undisclosed amount of gold coins.

According to this story around twenty years before the town of Mena was founded a robbery happened. A lawman named CAGLE is supposed to have disposed of the robbers and the gold was never found, except there are stories told by later generations that claim to have seen many gold coins that were reburied at some later point. So the town of Mena has at least two gold coin caches to search for.
*Thomas Mills daughter Nancy married Elijah Cagle in 1869 in Mena, Polk Co. Arkansas.


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LEFLORE COUNTY OKLAHOMA:

JESSE AND HIS GANG HAD A CAVE HIDEOUT IN THE TURKEY MOUNTAINS NEAR WISTER JUNCTION.

WITH A POSSE HOT ON THEIR TRAIL THEY HID 4 SACKS OF GOLD AND SILVER COINS WORTH $40,000 IN THE CAVE, FILLED THE OPENING WITH SANDSTONE ROCKS AND FLED TO ANOTHER OF THEIR HIDEOUTS.

*John Wesley Walker Anna Elizabeth Mills Walker's father is buried in Leflore Cemetery, Leflore Oklahoma. John W. Walker died 1897.   It is believed some Mills lived in Leflore, Oklahoma in the 1800's.

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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~menaarkans
ashistory/mena.html


More on the Little Cabin/Courthouse in Mena, Polk CO. Arkansas


In 1861, the shadow of the Civil War fell over the cabin and bushwhackers were preying the border.   Shelton, realizing that the cabin was no longer a safe place, abandoned it and moved further into the wooded area.   The cabin was soon taken up by the lawless and it is said that even Jesse James and his gang stopped here on several occasions.

Although no proof exist of this, it is possible as the James gang was known to travel through the area on their way between Hot Springs and the Indian Territory.   It was also quite common to steal horses in Arkansas and sell them in the territory, or vice versa.   In fact there is a cave and spring called Horsethief Spring between here and Oklahoma, which is said to be the place the "gang" holed up and hid their stolen horses.

The cabin became home again when Thomas Mills, Judge of Polk County, and his ten children moved into it in 1874.   Mr. Mills also contracted with the U.S. Mail to carry mail over six mail routes.   He headquartered in the cabin and carried mail from Hot Springs, Fort Smith, Arkadelphia, and points in Howard and Sevier Counties, and on the Stringtown route in Indian Territory.   This route was a distance of one hundred thirty-five miles and required eight days.   Mail was carried on horses or mules over the winding mountain trails.

Frank and Jessie James "careers" lasted from   1863-1882