Attempt to Rob County Treasurer's Office with a Torpedo
An audacious attempt to blow open a safe at a county treasurer's office in Indiana using a rigged 'jewelry box' torpedo ends in a botched explosion and a foiled burglar — a forgotten small-town crime story.
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The Morning Star And Catholic Messenger · June 16, 1872 · Page 1
1 min readCROWN POINT, Indiana.
A singular attempt was made on the night of the 6th instant to rob the County Treasurer's office at Crown Point, Indiana. A stranger came to the office at a late hour, and requested the treasurer to lock in the safe, until Monday morning, a small tin box, which he said contained a quantity of valuable jewelry. The request was granted, and a couple of hours later a watchman heard an explosion inside the safe, and, approaching, discovered and fired at a man creeping towards the safe. An investigation showed the box to have contained a torpedo, ingeniously arranged to explode at a certain time. The explosion blew the door of the safe open and injured the walls of the vault in which the safe stood, but failed to open the vault door.
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