1896: Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Rob the Montpelier Bank
On August 13, 1896, Butch Cassidy rode into Montpelier, Idaho, with Elzy Lay and Bob Meeks, stopping at a saloon before walking into the state’s number one chartered bank. Cassidy and Lay forced teller A. N. Mackintosh to hand over gold, silver, and currency worth between $5,000 and $15,000, then ordered everyone to wait ten minutes before leaving. The local sheriff gave chase on a bicycle. Cassidy and his crew escaped easily on horseback.
It was one of the first robberies carried out by the newly formed Wild Bunch gang. Cassidy may have needed the money to cover court and attorney fees for former associate Matt Warner, convicted of killing two men in a gunfight. Kid Curry Logan also rode with the gang. The Montpelier bank has since been converted into a museum dedicated to the robbery.
