High in the remote mountains of southern Bolivia, the tiny silver mining town of San Vicente has become an unlikely pilgrimage site for aficionados of the American Old West. Here, nestled among the windswept plateaus and rugged peaks of the altiplano, lies the San Vicente Museum—a modest monument to the enduring legend of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the infamous outlaws who allegedly met their demise in a hail of bullets on this very spot over a century ago.
The Wild Bunch: A Brief History
Born Robert Leroy Parker in 1866 in Utah Territory, Butch Cassidy began his criminal career as a cattle rustler and horse thief before graduating to bank and train robberies in the 1890s. Together with his partner-in-crime Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, a.k.a. the "Sundance Kid," and a rotating cast of other outlaws collectively known as "The Wild Bunch," Cassidy cut a swath of mayhem across the American West, staging daring heists in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.[^1]
Some of their most notorious capers included:
- The robbery of the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, Colorado in 1889
- The holdup of a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming in 1899, which netted the gang around $30,000 in cash and gold[^2]
- The theft of $70,000 from a Great Northern train near Wagner, Montana in 1901[^1]
Pursued by a crack team of Pinkerton detectives and facing increasing pressure from law enforcement, Butch and Sundance, along with Longabaugh‘s paramour Etta Place, ultimately fled to South America in 1901 seeking refuge.[^1]
Bandits in Bolivia
Over the next several years, the trio hopscotched between Argentina and Chile, purchasing a ranch in the former and crisscrossing the latter to stage a string of bank heists. By 1908, however, the long arm of the law was once again closing in, forcing Butch and Sundance to seek sanctuary in the remote wilds of southern Bolivia.[^3]
It was here, on November 3, 1908, that the pair allegedly committed what would be their final crime: the holdup of a mule train transporting a 15,000 peso Aramayo Franke silver mine payroll near the town of San Vicente. The heist quickly went sideways, however, erupting into a gun battle that left one muleteer dead. Butch and Sundance escaped with the loot, but their victory would be short-lived.[^4]
On the evening of November 6, a four-man posse caught up with the fugitives in San Vicente. What happened next has been debated and mythologized in the years since, but most accounts agree on the broad strokes: cornered and outnumbered, Butch and Sundance opted to go out in a blaze of glory, engaging in a fierce firefight with their pursuers before turning their guns on themselves rather than face capture.[^4]
Mystery and Mythology
While this version of events has become the stuff of Western legend—immortalized in the popular imagination by the classic 1969 Hollywood film starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford—questions have long swirled about what really transpired on that fateful November night.
Some historians argue that there is scant definitive proof that the two bandits slain in San Vicente were actually Butch and Sundance. Fueling these doubts is the fact that the bodies recovered from the shootout scene were hastily buried without a proper identification, while some contemporaneous newspaper accounts used names other than the famed outlaws.[^5]
Skeptics have also pointed to alleged post-1908 Cassidy sightings in South America and the United States as evidence that Butch, at least, may have somehow escaped Bolivia and returned to North America to live out his days under an assumed identity. A particularly famous example involved William T. Phillips, a machinist in Spokane, Washington, who claimed on his deathbed in 1937 to be the real Butch Cassidy.[^5] Though most scholars have dismissed this and other such stories as hoaxes or misidentifications, they remain popular among amateur researchers and conspiracy theorists.
A Monument to Memory
Regardless of the truth behind the tale, the town of San Vicente has staked its identity on being the site of Butch and Sundance‘s last stand. Seeking to capitalize on this notorious heritage and draw much-needed tourist revenue to the economically depressed community, Pan American Silver, the mining company that today operates the San Vicente silver mine, established the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Memorial Museum in the early 2000s.[^4]
Housed in a spartan stone building just off the town‘s main square, the museum‘s exhibits trace the arc of Butch and Sundance‘s criminal careers, with a special focus on their exploits in Bolivia and the dramatic events surrounding their alleged demise. Alongside faded photographs, wanted posters and newspaper clippings are artistic renderings of the climactic gun battle and text panels recounting the fateful robbery and its bloody aftermath.[^6]
While the museum‘s collection is modest in scope, it has become an important keeper of the flame for the town‘s niche Butch and Sundance tourism trade. Each year, a small but dedicated stream of adventurous travelers navigate the rugged dirt track connecting San Vicente to the outside world, drawn by the promise of walking in the footsteps of Western legend.[^7]
For these visitors, the museum serves as both a portal to a romanticized vision of the past and a sobering reminder of the harsh realities of life on the Bolivian frontier. It is a place to ponder the blurred lines between history and mythology, to grapple with the enduring allure of the outlaw archetype, and to reflect on the complex legacy that Butch and Sundance have left behind.
More Than a Museum
Beyond its value as a tourist attraction, the San Vicente Museum also plays an important role in preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage of the town and the surrounding region. In addition to the Butch and Sundance exhibits, the museum showcases artifacts and information related to San Vicente‘s long history as a silver mining hub—an industry that has shaped the community‘s identity for centuries.[^6]
The museum also serves as a gathering place and event space for the town‘s 1,500 residents, hosting community meetings, festivals and educational programs. In a small, isolated community with few other public amenities, this function is vitally important for fostering social cohesion and a sense of shared purpose.[^8]
Yet as with many rural Bolivian communities, San Vicente faces significant challenges. Poverty, lack of economic opportunity and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a heavy toll in recent years, leading many young people to leave in search of work in larger cities or abroad.[^9] In this context, the museum‘s role in driving tourism and generating revenue has taken on new urgency.
A Legacy in the Balance
More than a century after Butch and Sundance‘s alleged deaths, their legend continues to cast a long shadow over San Vicente. For better or worse, the town‘s identity has become inextricably linked to the fabled outlaws and the bloody denouement of their criminal saga.
The San Vicente Museum embodies this complex legacy in microcosm. At once a tribute to a romanticized vision of the Wild West and a vital lifeline for a community in need, it speaks to the enduring power of myth to shape our understanding of the past and our hopes for the future.
Whether Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid truly met their end in that dusty Bolivian mining camp remains a matter of historical debate. But there is no question that their story—and the humble museum that keeps it alive—will continue to fascinate and inspire for generations to come.
[^1]: Ernst, D. (2019, May 8). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: The incredible story behind the infamous outlaws. Biography. https://www.biography.com/news/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-facts[^2]: History.com Editors. (2009, November 9). Butch Cassidy. History. https://www.history.com/topics/crime/butch-cassidy
[^3]: Eddington, M. (2018, November 7). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid‘s last stand. HistoryNet. https://www.historynet.com/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kids-last-stand.htm
[^4]: Janiskee, B. (2009, November 3). The final days of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. National Parks Traveler. https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2009/11/final-days-butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid
[^5]: Katz, H. (2017, May 17). Did Butch Cassidy survive? A decades-old family story opens new chapter. History. https://www.history.com/news/did-butch-cassidy-survive-a-decades-old-family-story-opens-new-chapter
[^6]: Arnold, E. (2019, October 20). Visiting the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid Museum in Bolivia. Finding the Universe. https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-museum-bolivia/
[^7]: Whitfield, P. (2018, August 29). On the trail of Butch and Sundance in Bolivia. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/south-america/bolivia/articles/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-bolivia/
[^8]: Romero, S. (2012, September 5). In Bolivia, a tiny town‘s identity rests on a distinctive hat. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/world/americas/in-bolivia-a-tiny-towns-identity-rests-on-a-hat.html
[^9]: Bolivia‘s rural exodus: The struggle for opportunity. (2021, June 29). The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/bolivias-rural-exodus/
