calsfoundation@cals.org
February 5, 1848
Belle Starr, the “Bandit Queen of the West,” was born Myra Maybelle Shirley near Carthage, Missouri. As a resident of Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, Belle Starr came under the jurisdiction of Judge Isaac C. Parker in Fort Smith (Sebastian County). Her reputation as an outlaw, the novelty of her being a female criminal, and her violent, mysterious death led to her being called the “Bandit Queen.”