Exactly 145 years after a Russellville bank robbery that Jesse James’ gang is thought to have participated in, a Logan County man believes a rock on his property etched with the initials “J.J.” could have been carved by James or one of his gang members – although he doubts the rock marks the spot of buried loot.

Danny Crabtree has lived on the property for five years, but it wasn’t until about a month ago, when he was out playing with his dog, that an interesting carving on a rock stood out to him.

“I looked down and said, ‘That looks like J.J.’ But then I forgot about it,” he said.

Later, Crabtree searched online to see if the initials J.J. on a rock could have meaning.

“Every Google hit was Jesse James,” he said.

A light bulb went off in his head, and he’s spent a lot of time since then researching James and the bank robbery in Russellville on March 20, 1868. Local legend suggests James’ gang robbed the bank, although there is some argument whether James himself took part in the heist. 

In an 1875 letter James purportedly wrote to a Nashville newspaper, James denied any involvement in the Russellville bank robbery and, in a postscript, he asked the publisher to mail a copy of the newspaper with his printed letter to his mother in Missouri.

“I’ve had my nose stuck in research since I found this,” Crabtree said. For the first few days after his discovery, “I could hardly sleep, I was so excited.”

It’s a fact that James was frequently in Logan County, hunting and visiting his relatives, the Hite family of Adairville, according to Evelyn Richardson, a lifelong Logan County resident who gives walking tours of Russellville.

“We know that he was in Logan County a lot,” she said.

What’s unclear is whether James was involved in the 1868 robbery of Nimrod Long Banking Co.

“It’s a known fact that the Jesse James gang robbed the bank, but it’s unknown if he himself was with them,” Richardson said.

The group of robbers stole $9,000 in cash and $5,000 in coins, she said.

“In today’s money, it wouldn’t seem like very much,” Richardson said.

It’s unknown what route the robbers took out of Russellville, and the money was never recovered, she said.  

Crabtree didn’t know much about James or the robbery until he found the “J.J.” initials in the rock, but now he’s intrigued by the story.

“It’s a cool thought that Jesse James might have been here,” he said. 

His hobby is searching for artifacts with a metal detector, and he’s found several old silver coins in his yard, although so far, nothing has dated to the 1860s. Still, Crabtree couldn’t help speculating that the initials on the rock could indicate James buried the money from the robbery nearby.

Though Richardson believes it’s possible the money was buried, if it was, the criminals almost certainly retrieved it, she said.

“I can imagine them spending it,” she said.

Crabtree agrees that in all likelihood, the treasure is not there.

“I’m thinking it’s gone,” he said. “If it was here, he came back and got it.”

In any case, he’ll continue combing his property with a metal detector, because even if he doesn’t find the money, he might discover other interesting artifacts.

“Every time you get a good hit from one of these things, you never know what you’re going to get,” Crabtree said.

He wants to search privately and doesn’t want people offering to help.

“I don’t need any help looking,” he said. “This is my treasure hunt.”

The initials on the rock are more than enough to keep Crabtree fascinated, even without finding any treasure.

“If it is his initials, then that’s history,” he said. “The rock is the coolest thing in the world and that’s a treasure. Anything else is a bonus.”

He’s also excited by another set of initials in the rock, though they are harder to spot. When shadows hit the rock, a carving that looks like “A.M.” is visible, which could stand for Arthur McCoy, who was known to work with James and is thought to have been part of the 1868 robbery.

“If there is an ‘A.M.,’ that would validate it,” Crabtree said. 

Authenticating the two sets of initials is his main task. A geologist who has seen a picture of the rock indicated the carvings could be as old as 145 years, but Crabtree wants to have an expert come in person and determine once and for all if the “J.J.” is Jesse James.

“I want to find something here that proves that it is or that it ain’t,” he said.