The Banker and the Bank Robber

An excerpt from Wicked Hampton County.

Old Man Bowden, aka Banker Bowden, was a legendary figure in Hampton County, S.C. history. With a pistol in one pocket and a pint of moonshine in the other, he loaned money to bootleggers, held poker games in the back of the bank with a pot richer than the bank’s vault, and as you can see here, rubbed elbows with bank robbers.

Just as some bank robbers became infamous up and down the East Coast, one local banker made a unique name for himself, both in Hampton County and nationally. While he wasn’t an outlaw, Ralph Olen Bowden, commonly known as “Banker Bowden” or “Old Man Bowden” by locals, was known as a colorful character who played by his own rules and made national news for becoming close friends with a notorious but reformed bank heister.

In 1907, Bowden opened the Loan and Exchange Bank, which he co-owned with William Mauldin, on Hampton’s main street. Bowden later purchased and erected Hampton’s landmark clock on Lee Avenue.

Bowden was known for granting customers unusual loans and often asking for even more unusual collateral. A supporter of the “wet,” or pro-alcohol movement, Bowden would loan money for such suspicious items as copper tubing, barrels and other items often associated with the construction of a moonshine liquor still. He knew a smart, thriving business plan when he saw one…

According to his family, Banker Bowden once even loaned money with people as collateral. In “Salkehatchie Stew” interviews conducted by the author for a University of South Carolina–Salkehatchie history project, his descendants recalled the exchange between a new, young doctor, fresh out of med school, who moved to town with nothing but his hat in his hand, to ask for a loan. When Bowden asked what the doctor had for collateral, he said he had nothing at the moment but his wife and children. So Old Man Bowden got their names and ages and put them down as collateral for the loan.

While his antics made him widely known throughout the county, an unlikely friendship with a notorious former bank robber would send Bowden to New York City to appear on NBC’s radio and TV programs. In October 1950, Bowden made national headlines when he entertained one of the country’s most infamous bank robbers at his Savannah River fish camp, Pink Ridge Hill: James “Big Jim” Morton of Cleveland, Ohio.

Banker R.O. Bowden (left) and notorious former bank robber James “Big Jim” Morton examining a bank safe in October 1950. Courtesy of the Hampton County Guardian archives.

This strange banker–bank robber friendship developed after Bowden read the Saturday Evening Post series on Morton, “I was the King of Thieves,” and decided it would be interesting to meet such a criminal “artist.” Bowden then wrote a lengthy letter to Morton and, after a brief exchange of correspondence, invited Big Jim to visit him.

“Ralph is the first banker, and probably will be the last, to invite me to his home,” Morton told the press. “Though I did notice the invitation was to his Savannah River place and not to his home in Hampton near the bank.”

In response, Bowden said, “I imagine I must be the only banker in the world who would entertain a yeggman [a burglar or safecracker]. Jim, to me, looks like a Christian gentleman and has every earmark of a statesman, fine manners and he is handsome, too. I consider him a literary artist as well as a torch artist.”

While enjoying a fine dinner at the fish camp, the inquisitive banker had a slew of questions for the reformed robber.

“What was the biggest haul you ever made?” Bowden asked.

“$184,000, from safety deposit boxes in an Indiana bank.”

“Do you think a robber would ever try a night depository like the one I had installed at my bank some time ago?”

“No experienced robber would break it because he’d know in a town like Hampton it wouldn’t be enough to make it worth the effort.”

When asked by a reporter if he had ever robbed one of Bowden’s banks, Big Jim replied, “No, I haven’t robbed The Loan and Exchange Bank— that is, not yet.”

Looking at a photo taken of the two in front of the safe at Bowden’s bank, it would be difficult to guess at first glance who the professional banking officer was and who the ex-criminal was. Morton was clean cut and well attired, while Bowden appeared wild-haired and plainly dressed.

Bowden and Morton later traveled to New York, where they made a hit on the We the People nationwide Thursday night radio broadcast and its Friday night television show. “Radios in this section were tuned in to NBC for the Thursday night broadcast and many persons saw the show,” reported the Guardian. “Most persons commenting who heard the show said it was a real thrill to hear, “We take you to Hampton, South Carolina.…”

Wicked Hampton County is part of Arcadia Publishing/The History Press’ national “Wicked” series. To read more, you can find Wicked Hampton County at arcadiapublishing.com