Butch Cassidy comes back to Montpelier

The Wild West was home to some notorious outlaws in the 1800s. One of those outlaws left his mark on Idaho.

That outlaw was Butch Cassidy and the town was Montpelier.

Montpelier held a celebration over the weekend to remember Cassidy and the history he brings to the town.

Butch Cassidy was a wild west legend. His well-planned bank and train robberies made him one of the most infamous outlaws in history. And a piece of his story belongs to Montpelier.

It was August 13, 1896. Three men rode into Montpelier. After a few casual drinks, the men walked over to the bank. They forced the banker inside at gunpoint, grabbed the money and calmly rode back out of town. The whole robbery took five minutes. The sheriff tried to chase the men, but had only a bicycle.

Cassidy and his men had successfully stolen $7,142, which would be equal to about a quarter of a million dollars today.

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the robbery. That same bank is now a Butch Cassidy museum.

Radek Konarik is the man behind the restoration of the bank and Butch Cassidy Days. He lives in Salt Lake City. But he commutes to Montpelier every weekend to keep the history of the bank alive.

“I was born in Europe and we have a lot of history in Europe and I see this old decapitated building, abandoned building, and I saw so much history in this building and I just basically decided to save the history,” Konarik said. “It’s a wonderful piece of history which I wouldn’t like to see faded away.”

The museum opened last year for the summer. In just the four months it was open, it had about 3,000 visitors.

The Bank of Montpelier is the original building. The floors are the exact floors Butch Cassidy would have walked on 120 years ago. Konarik said details have been added to the inside, but the original building has not changed, including the floors and the old vault. It’s currently the only one of the original banks Cassidy robbed that is still standing.

Inside Konarik has added old-time banking bars and souvenirs. He has also put Cassidy’s story along the wall for everyone to read. Many facts about Cassidy and the robbery line the wall. Facts like one of Cassidy’s accomplices, Bob Meeks, was the only one caught. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, the longest prison stretch in Idaho history at the time.

There is also the mysterious legend of the number 13. One of the assistant bank cashiers at the time of the robbery blames the robbery on that number. The robbery happened on the 13th day of August at 13 minutes past 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The last deposit that was made before the robbery was for exactly $13.00 and 13 bank drafts had been issued that day. Earlier in his life at the age of 13, Cassidy had his first run-in with the law. Plus, Cassidy was born April 13, 1866 as the oldest of 13 children.

There is also a map and information about all of the banks Cassidy was known to have robbed. Konarik said having stuff like this is what the museum is all about, and what draws people in to learn about Cassidy.

Others who came out for Butch Cassidy Days said they were impressed by the museum and they’re glad to see history remain in the town.

“I think it’s really neat,” said Sarah Argyle, who is from Preston. “I think anything that you can keep historical in a town like this, where it has some sort of significance, I think it’s amazing.”

“It looks awesome,” said Kelly Jolley, from Abilene, Texas. “To be able to walk in and follow the history on the wall there and then see the spur marks on the floor too. Yeah, they’ve done a fabulous job.”

“I think it’s a good experience,” said Megan Vickers, who lives in Paris, Idaho. “It draws people to Montpelier, not just the Bear Lake area. And so it’s a lot of fun and just brings us all together. “

Austin Fisher is from Montpelier and he said it’s a much needed boost for tourism.

“I was really impressed as a local to see some of these pieces of history being on display here in town,” he said. “That’s nice.”

Konarik said it’s been a lot of work getting the museum ready, but he thinks it will all grow into something amazing down the road. He said he’s glad he was able to revive the legend.

“Some people like to restore their old cars, you know, my calling was probably restoring the old bank,” he said.

The museum has a Hollywood star commemorating it. The star will be put into the sidewalk in front of the museum sometime next year.

More information on the museum can be found on The Bank of Montpelier’s Facebook page.