King of the Road - August 2010
Still Standing
Billy the Kid's legend endures in Lincoln
Story and Photography by Lesley S. King
“It’s as though the Lincoln County War is still going on,” says Murray Arrowsmith, taking in the scene of this oft-visited town, which has changed little since the notorious days in the 1870s when a range war threatened locals, and a cowboy named Henry McCarty became known as Billy the Kid. A manager at the Lincoln State Monument, Arrowsmith meets with me when I first enter this hamlet of some 50 residents. Back in the day, the main drag here was proclaimed “the most dangerous street in America.” Though today’s visitors don’t dodge bullets, anyone who threatens the authenticity of the 40 historic sites here will quickly find a fight.
Set on U.S. 380, 185 miles southeast of Albuquerque, Lincoln is, as Murray says, “Possibly the best preserved historic town in the country.” A National Historic Landmark, it is free of fast-food restaurants and neon signs. Today my journey starts at the Old Lincoln County Courthouse, built in 1873 and once a store owned by an Irish immigrant, L. G. Murphy. The entrepreneurial Murphy held a monopoly on supplies and commerce in the area, most notably the cattle trade. Now a museum, the building displays artifacts from the store and photos of some of the participants in the war.
Farther down the street, I reach the next chapter in the story. In 1876, Englishman John Tunstall came to Lincoln, intent, like Murphy, on making a fortune in ranching and mercantile. Today the Tunstall Store is also a museum that tells about the spark that ignited the conflict: In a complex web of events, Tunstall was murdered by men who sided with his rival, Murphy.
IF YOU GO WHAT TO DO WHERE TO DINE Dolan House Laughing Sheep Farm Restaurant WHERE TO STAY & DINE Wortley Hotel WHERE TO SHOP La Placita Ran La Roca Glass
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At the time, Billy the Kid worked as a cowboy for Tunstall, whom he apparently regarded as a father. He and Tunstall’s fellow employees, who called themselves the Regulators, set out to avenge their patriarch; the subsequent feud lasted more than two years and culminated in a five-day gun battle. In all, some 30 men died. News of the war spread across the United States, and spurred President Rutherford B. Hayes to, in 1878, appoint Major General Lew Wallace as the new territorial governor of New Mexico and send him here to quiet the situation.
Today, at the Anderson-Freeman Visitor Center & Museum, I see portraits of all the conflict’s players, as well as a short film about the war.
As evening falls, I continue strolling through Lincoln. I arrive for dinner at Dolan House (1883), the home of L. G. Murphy’s business partner, James Dolan, and now a restaurant. Three years ago, Beverly and Bill Strauser bought the crumbling adobe and, with much toil, restored it. “My husband has always been a history buff, and that brought us here,” says Beverly. Today, the house has a massive stone fireplace, shiny hardwood floors, and oak tables where diners enjoy Beverly’s home-style cooking.
Down the street I find the Wortley Hotel, restored by more newcomers to Lincoln, Cathy and Victor Garrison. “We take diamonds in the rough and put them back on the map,” says Cathy. For the Wortley, this included a new roof, new plumbing, and a new kitchen, where, spring through fall, Victor prepares meals for the hotel’s restaurant. My room, in a simple frontier style, offers a full night’s sleep in uninterrupted silence.
The next morning, there’s more to explore. At Ran La Roca Glass, in the Lesnett House (1863), I meet Randy and Ronda Dougherty, who are hard at work in their studio making enameled-glass jewelry, sculptures, and vessels. As artists, they have a special appreciation for their atmospheric gallery space. “The building has such character; it’s worth preserving,” says Ronda. “It’s a great place to be creative.”
My last stop is the home of some old friends, David and Jinny Vigil. At their Ellis Store Country Inn, they serve me a gourmet lunch and talk of recent interest in Lincoln. In the past few years, several documentaries and television productions have been shot here for the BBC, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel to name a few. As we walk through this hacienda, where Billy the Kid spent several weeks under house arrest, Jinny says, “It amazes us that there’s such continual interest in Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War.”
The residents of today’s Lincoln are determined that their town be a living testament to its history and the Old West. Jinny and David, along with a number of organizations—including Partners in Preservation of Lincoln State Monument, the Lincoln County Historical Society, and the Lincoln State Monument—have been active in preserving the town, a task that has often meant standing their ground when confronted with what some might call “progress.” “It’s important that we not Aspen-ize it, or let it be like Tombstone,” Jinny says, referring to the commercialization of those towns.
And what of Billy the Kid? Most people here say he was a scapegoat for the many murders that took place during the Lincoln County War. Wily cowboy that he was, he shot his way out of the courthouse. But Sheriff Pat Garrett caught up with Billy, killing the Kid in Fort Sumner, where some say Billy had a sweetheart. The story touches people deeply, so they hold on to it and preserve it—as the residents of Lincoln do their town.
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