On August 16, 1935, FBI Special Agents Nelson B. Klein and Donald C. McGovern spotted car thief George W. Barrett here. Barrett, a convicted criminal, ran a scam stealing cars, altering them, then selling them. He transported cars over state lines, violating the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, passed in 1919. The federal law helped catch many criminals in the 1920s and 1930s. Klein called upon Barrett to surrender. Barrett opened fire near here, killing Klein and getting wounded himself. A 1934 law made killing a government agent a federal offense, punishable by death. Barrett was tried and convicted in Indianapolis and hanged March 24, 1936.