Butch Cassidy Museum Expands as Visitor Numbers Increase
MONTPELIER, Idaho (AP) — The Butch Cassidy Museum in Montpelier, Idaho, is getting a face-lift.
The museum is the last standing bank that the infamous outlaw robbed. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people visit the museum in the 100 days it is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, museum owner Radek Konarik said.
Because of that growth, the museum is expanding. One of the back rooms, which was used for storage, has been made into another room of the museum, where an 1800s-style jail has been added, KIFI-TV reported .
Another recent addition since the last Butch Cassidy Days festival last summer is the original bank vault.
"This bank door was buried in a basement for over 100 years," Konarik said. "Where we are standing, it was an old bank which was closed in 1910. In 1910, the guy moved everything out of here into a bigger and better building across the street, which is Zion Bank today. And we work out a deal with them, and Zion Bank donated this vault to us so we can display this to the public."
Another expansion Konarik is working on for next year is a history story wall, he said. The wall is just drawings and sketches right now, but soon it will be digitized for people to see Cassidy's story.
Konarik, who funds the museum out of pocket, with a few donations here and there, said other expansions will come as time and money allow.
The new additions and features of the museum will be on display for Butch Cassidy Days from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. There will be a bank robbery reenactment at 3 p.m.