Butch Cassidy's Boyhood Home

One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering unexpected attractions.  Those unknown things that jump out at you when you get to a destination.  They are always a pleasant surprise and make visiting that location so much better.    

We are staying in Circleville because it puts us in a central location to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef National Parks, and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.  We were unaware that this place was Butch Cassidy's Boyhood Home.   It is Circleville's claim to fame, a unique place to see.

Robert LeRoy Parker, eventually taking the name Butch Cassidy, was born on April 13, 1866, in Beaver, Utah Territory.  His parents eventually established a ranch just south of Circleville, Utah. 

Parker left home as a teenager and, while working on a dairy ranch, met cattle thief Mike Cassidy.  He had an apprenticeship with a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory.  He got his nickname "Butch" because he was a butcher.  He eventually added  Cassidy in honor of his old friend and mentor.

His parents' ranch, where he grew up, is simple and a testament to an Old West life.  A cabin and outbuildings sit along US Highway 89 south of town.  The stop includes plaques describing his time there.  It was an interesting stop.