Reimund Holzhey’s Wild Ride Through Michigan History

Before the Old West officially rode off into the sunset, Michigan had one last brush with outlaw justice. On this day in 1889, 22-year-old Reimund Holzhey—known dramatically as the “Black Bart of the Upper Peninsula”—staged the final stagecoach robbery east of the Mississippi River. What unfolded that day was part dime novel, part tragedy, and all true Michigan history.

Holzhey wasn’t your run-of-the-mill bandit. He was a young man with a flair for drama, a penchant for train and stagecoach holdups, and an unfortunate taste for dime novels, including those about the infamous (and much less violent) Black Bart. Holzhey adopted the moniker and made the Gogebic district a dangerous place to travel in 1889.

The Last Stagecoach Robbery East of the Mississippi

On that fateful day, four prominent Illinois bankers were en route to Lake Gogebic for a summer holiday. Holzhey ambushed the stage between Gogebic Station and the Gogebic Hotel, demanding money and valuables. But things quickly went sideways. A passenger—A.G. Fleischbein of Belleville—refused to comply and drew his own gun. Shots rang out mortally wounding Fleischbein. He died the next day in Bessemer, making this more than just a robbery—it was now murder.

Holzhey fled into the woods, sparking a manhunt that lasted three tense months. His luck ran out on August 30, when he checked into a hotel in Republic, Michigan, under the name “Henry Plant.” Unfortunately for him, the hotel owner, a former detective named William O’Brien, was playing cribbage with a sharp-eyed local named Albert Drake. They recognized the outlaw from a newspaper sketch, summoned law enforcement quietly, and planned a capture.

Depending on which version of the tale you read (and there are many), Holzhey was surrounded on the hotel porch, tackled in the street, or thumped with a night watchman’s club while trying to pull a pistol. But either way—he was caught.

From Problem to Model Prisoner

After being convicted of murder, Holzhey was sent to Marquette Prison, where he proved to be a major headache. He tried escaping, took hostages, and went on hunger strikes. He also suffered seizures and was eventually transferred to the Ionia State Hospital, where surgeons attempted to treat a fractured skull from a childhood fall. Something changed. When Holzhey returned to Marquette, he became a model inmate.

He learned photography, ran the prison library, and edited the prison newspaper. After 24 years, he was paroled in 1913. Holzhey opened a photography studio, guided tourists at northern resorts, and eventually made his way to Yellowstone National Park, where he sold scenic photos to visitors.

Final years

He lived out his remaining life quietly on Captiva Island, Florida. After a long illness, Holzhey took his own life on September 26, 1952, closing the chapter on one of Michigan’s most unexpected outlaws.

While Holzhey tried to model himself after dime-store legends, his story ended up being uniquely Michigan: wild, tragic, redemptive, and complicated.