Bear Lake County Courthouse

Bear Lake County Courthouse

Paris, Idaho

In 1863 Mormon leader Brigham Young sent the first Mormon settlers to Bear Valley to utilize the timber, water and other resources, and to establish the community of Paris. The city is named after Brigham Young's friend Thomas E. Perris, who surveyed the town. The courthouse was built a few years later.

One group of outlaws who did not have to face justice here was Butch Cassidy and his Hole in the Wall gang when they robbed the nearby Bank of Montpelier in 1896. In this case justice lost and Butch got away with $13.