Stuart, Florida is a small coastal city and the county seat of Martin County, situated in southeastern Florida near the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of approximately 17,425 according to the 2020 U.S. Census, it is the largest of five incorporated municipalities in Martin County and is frequently cited as one of the best small towns to visit in the United States. Today the city is home to the Elliott Museum, founded in 1961, which houses an eclectic collection celebrating invention, art, and Florida history — and, as of the time of filming, a new exhibit dedicated to the Ashley gang. Gates visited Stuart during Season 10 of Expedition Unknown to investigate the legacy of John Ashley and his gang, who used the town and the surrounding Everglades as the base of a decade-long criminal enterprise in the early twentieth century.
John Ashley's criminal career begins, anchored in the Everglades region around Stuart, following the death of his Seminole partner DeSoto Tiger
The Ashley gang conducts a decade-long crime spree, reportedly robbing more than 40 banks including the Bank of Stuart on multiple occasions
The Ashley gang's run ends; Palm Beach Sheriff Bob Baker, carrying on his father Sheriff George Baker's pursuit, brings the gang down
The Elliott Museum is founded in Stuart, eventually housing art, Americana, and Florida history collections
Gates investigates Stuart and the Ashley gang legacy for Expedition Unknown S10E10 "Chasing Everglades Treasure"
At the Elliott Museum, Gates speaks with CEO Rob Steele, who frames the Ashley gang as a criminally underappreciated chapter in American outlaw history. As Steele puts it on camera, the Ashley gang robbed more than 40 banks while John Dillinger — far more famous — robbed only 24, calling it "a story that is waiting to be told" that "everyone should know about." The museum's new exhibit at the time of filming was apparently designed to help correct that oversight.
Historically, the Ashley gang operated between roughly 1914 and 1924, exploiting their intimate knowledge of the Florida Everglades to evade law enforcement for years. John Ashley earned the nickname "King of the Everglades" in part because the dense, trackless swamp terrain gave him and his family-based gang a near-impenetrable refuge. The gang's criminal career is believed to have begun with the death of Ashley's Seminole partner DeSoto Tiger, whose killing drew the first serious law enforcement scrutiny toward John Ashley.
The cat-and-mouse dynamic between the Ashley gang and the Baker family — Palm Beach Sheriff George Baker and later his son Sheriff Bob Baker — is a recurring thread in regional Florida history, illustrating how personal the pursuit of frontier outlaws could become in an era when law enforcement jurisdictions were loosely defined and the Everglades were barely mapped. Stuart's role as a banking hub in a frontier coastal economy made it a natural target; the Bank of Stuart is said to have been robbed by the gang on more than one occasion.
Gates' episode does not claim to resolve any specific historical mystery about the gang, but uses Stuart as an entry point into a broader investigation of Ashley gang lore and the possibility of hidden Everglades treasure. The Elliott Museum visit grounds the episode in documented history before Gates heads deeper into the swamp, and Rob Steele's enthusiasm for the subject reflects a genuine regional effort to bring this chapter of Florida history to wider attention.
Stuart is the county seat and the largest of five incorporated municipalities in Martin County, Florida.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Stuart has a population of approximately 17,425 residents.
Stuart is frequently cited as one of the best small towns to visit in the United States, largely due to its proximity to the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Elliott Museum, which houses the Ashley gang exhibit Gates visited, was founded in 1961 and celebrates invention, art, and Florida history.
The Elliott Museum, located in Stuart, is generally accessible to visitors and serves as the primary gateway to the town's Ashley gang history, housing permanent and rotating exhibits on Florida heritage alongside art and Americana collections. Stuart's historic downtown is walkable and situated near the St. Lucie River, offering additional context for the waterways the gang once navigated. Check current museum hours and admission details directly with the Elliott Museum before visiting.
West Palm Beach, Florida, approximately 45 miles to the south.
Stuart enjoys a subtropical climate, and the winter months — roughly November through April — are generally considered the most comfortable for visiting, with lower humidity and milder temperatures. Summer brings heat, humidity, and the peak of Florida's hurricane season, so plan accordingly.
Florida Coast
The Florida coastline and Everglades waterways were the primary escape routes and operational territory of the Ashley gang, connecting Stuart's outlaw history to the broader Florida wilderness Gates investigates.
South Carolina swamps
Like Stuart, South Carolina's swamp country features episodes where Gates explores how remote, difficult terrain enabled criminals and fugitives to evade law enforcement for extended periods.
Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville, Kansas was the site of the Dalton Gang's infamous 1892 bank robbery attempt, making it a natural thematic parallel to Stuart's Ashley gang bank-robbing legacy — both are small towns defined in part by their outlaw histories.
Historical data sourced from Wikipedia