Kirk's voice dropped a notch as he added conspiratorially, "Lula said she could walk from here and put her hand on his grave — but she wouldn't tell anyone where that was, not even her own children."

Even if she had, they're not around either. The last of Butch Cassidy's relatives living in the Circleville area — his nephew John Betenson — died earlier this year.

All that leaves is the talk — and that old wooden house people drive past night and day not knowing what it is.

Kirk nodded toward a man getting a fountain drink at the end of the store and said, "Want to meet the man who owns the house?"

He introduced me to Afton Morgan, a local farmer who, it turns out, bought the property that contains the old Parker homestead from Mark Betenson, John's brother, 24 years ago in 1982.

Afton said that he at first thought he might do something with the Butch Cassidy property.

"We were going to fix it up, maybe put in a trailer park and a museum," he said, "I gave a guy $20,000 to get started. Then he skipped the country with the money. After that I said the heck with it."

Not wanting the house to fall into complete disrepair, Afton said that a few years ago he paid another man to come in and shore up the foundation and partially restore the house's walls and ceiling.

"It's not falling over any more," he said.

"And the cows aren't walking through it," added Fullmer.

A likable man quick with a smile, Morgan said he used to have some signs up that announced it as Butch's old home. "But people either tear down the signs or steal 'em," he said. "So now it's unmarked. But I'm fine if people want to walk down and take a look. Just be respectful."

The plain old wooden house is the only physical evidence remaining that Butch Cassidy once slept here.

All that anyone knows about, that is.

---

Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.