The entire town of Lincoln, New Mexico is a state historic site — a half-mile stretch of US-380 where the entire street is the museum, the buildings are original, and the markers on the ground tell you exactly where men died. Modern influences including souvenir stands are not permitted. What remains is essentially the town as it was in the 1880s — 50 residents today compared to nearly 900 at the height of the Lincoln County War, and every building on the street carrying a story that is either documented history or documented legend, often both.

Sam, LaRee, and I visited on July 23, 2009 — a day trip from Ruidoso where we were staying during the New Mexico road trip. Lincoln is 12 miles east of Ruidoso on US-380 — a natural day trip from the area. Luca and Alexis were back in Ruidoso during this visit.

The Lincoln County War — What Happened Here

Lincoln County in the 1870s was the largest county in the United States — 22,000 square miles of New Mexico Territory with a single sheriff to maintain order among farmers, ranchers, merchants, and the competing interests that inevitably followed. At the center of the conflict was a commercial monopoly — Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan controlled the only store in the county, supplying beef to the Army at Fort Stanton and dominating the local economy with the backing of the Santa Fe Ring, the corrupt political network that controlled New Mexico Territory.

When competing rancher John Tunstall and attorney Alexander McSween opened a rival store in 1877 — backed by English rancher John Chisum — the monopoly was threatened. The Murphy-Dolan faction responded with legal maneuvering, intimidation, and eventually violence. Tunstall was murdered on February 18, 1878 — an act that sparked the open conflict of the Lincoln County War. Among those who witnessed the murder and joined the Regulators in response was a young man who would become known as Billy the Kid.

The war ran from 1878 to 1879 — featuring ambushes, murders, the Five-Day Battle in Lincoln itself, and the intervention of Territorial Governor Lew Wallace (who was simultaneously writing Ben-Hur). By the time it ended dozens of men were dead and Billy the Kid had become the most wanted man in New Mexico Territory.

The Escape — April 28, 1881

The moment that defines Lincoln for most visitors happened on April 28, 1881 — when Billy the Kid, imprisoned in the Old Lincoln County Courthouse awaiting execution by hanging, killed both of his guards and escaped.

The two markers on the ground tell the story precisely:

J.W. Bell Died Here — Bell was one of the two deputies assigned to guard Billy. Accounts differ on the exact sequence — Billy either obtained a weapon from an outhouse during a supervised bathroom visit or overpowered Bell in the stairwell. Bell was shot and killed attempting to escape down the outside staircase.

Robt. M. Ollinger Died Here — April 28, 1881 — Robert Ollinger was the second deputy, across the street at the Wortley Hotel when the shooting began. Hearing the shot, he ran back toward the courthouse. Billy — now at the upstairs window with Ollinger’s own shotgun — waited until Ollinger looked up and shot him. The marker stands where Ollinger fell.

The bullet hole from that escape is still visible in the wall of the courthouse — a physical connection to the specific moment that made Billy the Kid a legend rather than just another participant in a New Mexico range war.

Billy escaped Lincoln that day. Pat Garrett shot and killed him at Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881 — 86 days after the escape.

The Buildings — What We Visited

Murphy-Dolan Store / Old Lincoln County Courthouse — the most significant building on the street and the site of Billy the Kid’s escape. Originally built as the Murphy-Dolan mercantile — the commercial headquarters of the faction that started the Lincoln County War — it became the Lincoln County Courthouse after Murphy-Dolan’s business collapsed. The bullet hole from the April 28, 1881 escape is still visible in the wall — we photographed it on our July 2009 visit. From the upstairs window you can see the ground below where Ollinger fell — the same view Billy the Kid had when he waited with the shotgun on April 28, 1881. Standing at that window and looking down at the death marker is one of the more direct connections to a specific historical moment available at any site in New Mexico.

Ruins — brick, rock, and adobe wall remnants visible along the street — the bones of structures that did not survive as intact as the major historic buildings. The ruins add to the authentic character of Lincoln — this is not a reconstructed or sanitized historic site, it is a town that lost most of its population and has been slowly preserved rather than restored.

Old Dolan Home — viewed from the outside. The residence of James Dolan — the central antagonist of the Lincoln County War after Murphy’s decline — still standing on the main street.

Tunstall Store and Museum — John Tunstall’s competing store, the establishment of which triggered the Lincoln County War. The Tunstall Store is now a museum with a remarkable display of late 19th-century merchandise — the shelves and cases stocked with period goods that give an immediate sense of what frontier commerce looked like in 1878. One of the more distinctive museum experiences in New Mexico — the store as artifact rather than exhibit space. Open April through October.

Torreon Tower — one of the most distinctive structures in Lincoln and one of the oldest — a cylindrical stone defensive tower built by the original Spanish and Mexican settlers of Las Placitas del Rio Bonito in the 1850s, predating the Lincoln County War by more than two decades. The Torreon was built for protection against Apache raids during the early settlement period. It stands as a reminder that Lincoln’s history begins long before Billy the Kid — with the Native peoples who occupied the Rio Bonito valley for thousands of years, the Spanish colonizers who arrived in the 1850s, and the Mexican and Hispano families who built the original settlement.

Columbus Rock — a large rock in the area with historical significance to the early settlement. (Add any specific notes from the visit.)

Church of San Juan Bautista — the historic Catholic church serving the Spanish and Mexican community of Lincoln — one of the five cultures (Native American, Spanish, Mexican, Anglo-American, and African American Buffalo Soldiers) whose competing presence shaped the history of Lincoln County. The church represents the Hispano community that predated the Lincoln County War and continued through it.

Fort Stanton Cemetery

A stop at Fort Stanton Cemetery — the burial ground associated with Fort Stanton, the US Army installation established in 1855 approximately eight miles west of Lincoln. Fort Stanton’s role in the Lincoln County War was significant — the fort’s commanding officers were drawn into the conflict on the Murphy-Dolan side at various points, and the Army’s beef supply contracts with the Murphy-Dolan faction were a primary economic driver of the war. The cemetery holds soldiers, civilians, and veterans from multiple eras of Fort Stanton’s operation — including Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry who served at the post.

The Town Today

Lincoln today has approximately 50 residents — down from nearly 900 at the height of the Lincoln County War. The entire town is designated as the Lincoln Historic Site — no commercial development, no souvenir stands, no modern intrusions on the main street. The Anderson-Freeman Visitors Center anchors the east end of the street with exhibits on the Buffalo Soldiers, the Apache, and the Lincoln County War. The half-mile walk from one end of the main street to the other passes through the most intact 1880s Western townscape in New Mexico.

The annual Old Lincoln Days celebration in August — featuring the outdoor pageant The Last Escape of Billy the Kid, presented every year since 1949 — is the peak visit event. The pageant is performed outdoors on the actual street where the events occurred.

More Information:

• Adults $5, children under 17 free — New Mexico CulturePass accepted

• Anderson-Freeman Visitors Center: exhibits on Buffalo Soldiers, Apache, and Lincoln County War — open daily year-round

• Tunstall Store Museum: remarkable period merchandise display — open April through October

• Old Lincoln County Courthouse: Billy the Kid escape site, bullet hole visible — open daily

• Death markers: J.W. Bell and Robt. M. Ollinger — April 28, 1881 — on the main street

• Torreon Tower: 1850s Spanish-Mexican defensive tower — predates the Lincoln County War

• Church of San Juan Bautista: historic Hispano Catholic church on main street

• Old Dolan Home: exterior viewing

• Annual Old Lincoln Days: August — outdoor pageant The Last Escape of Billy the Kid since 1949

• Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway passes through Lincoln

• No souvenir stands or modern commercial development permitted on main street

• Fort Stanton Cemetery: 8 miles west on US-380 — Buffalo Soldiers, soldiers, and veterans buried here

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