In these fields, formerly the site of the Ellen Conkle farm, notorious Depression-Era desperado Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was killed by federal agents and members of the East Liverpool Police Department on October 22, 1934. Floyd's criminal career as a bank robber, during which he was reputed to have committed a dozen murders, mostly of police officers, led J. Edgar Hoover to designate him "Public Enemy No. 1" only three months earlier. Believed to be returning to his home in the Cookson Hills of Oklahoma after a year in hiding, Floyd and his partner, Adam Richetti, drew the attention of local police near Wellsville, Ohio. A shoot-out followed, resulting in Richetti's capture and Floyd's escape. Agent Melvin Purvis supervised the three-day manhunt, which ended here when eight lawmen brought Floyd's life of violence to an end. "Pretty Boy's" body was placed on public display in East Liverpool before being returned to Oklahoma for burial.
