lincoln state monument

You can really step back in time here. Much is still 'original' to the old town. It is a desolate location, so not a whole lot of visitors to compete with. Nice, quiet walk through the town and we even saw a small deer hiding in some bushes next to an old house. Enjoy the nostalgia of Billy the Kid themed attractions. Several are marked quite clearly and even painted stripes on the floor show you exactly where something happened or someone was....still bullet holes in the walls.

Traveling west from Roswell, nm, we happened across this beautiful place. I was exciting to see this place, as I love history and to know this is the area of billy the kid, the Lincoln wars and history, this was a cool little place. There are a couple museums...$5 per person to actually go into the buildings and watch films. There are historic building around the area that one could just do a walking tour and take photos for free and not go in. I walked the streets and could just imagine "regulators" being yelled by billy. I would recommend the drive west on why 380 from Roswell, as it is a beautiful drive even if you are not into Billy the Kid. Keep driving...surprises on the road

In advance I will say we visited the monument on a Sunday, so maybe it's different on a weekday. My original impression was that you could tour a lot of the old houses and they would be staged with furniture of that time period. Not the case. Almost every house we passed was locked and only one looked as if it had been staged; the rest just had office supplies in them. As your walking down the stretch of road there will be private houses mixed in with the old houses. The private properties have numerous signs on them stating so, it almost gives you the feeling they don't like you being there. No shops were open (didn't really bother me though since I knew it was Sunday). I'm more inclined to like historical things so I made my husband go but even I was bored during the walk. I had to apologize to my husband numerous times. Overall I would say don't waste your time. Stick to exploring the forest it'll be more worst your time.

This place is great. All the sights are located in a straight line down the highway. Particularly interesting is the old Court House where Billy The Kid made his famous escape. But all the stops along the way have something to commend them.

The old courthouse is now a museum, dedicated essentially to Henry McCarty, aka William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid. He was jailed here, on the second floor, awaiting execution by hanging. Pat Garrett was the sheriff. Billy had killed a previous sheriff in this town. It was part of an ongoing feud between the town's merchants and resulted in the Lincoln County War in the late 1870s. One general store in town was run by two merchants named Murphy and Dolan. They had no serious competition until John Tunstall opened a general store nearby. It cost Tunstall his life. He was gunned down outside of town by the sheriff's men, who were in cahoots with Murphy and Dolan. Some of Tunstall's employees at a ranch Tunstall owned rode into town to seek revenge. One of these employees was Billy the Kid. These men bushwhacked and killed Sheriff Brady. Eventually Billy was caught, convicted, and sentenced to death. While jailed here, Billy wrote to the state governor, Lew Wallace, reminding Wallace of the deal Billy had with him. Billy had testified for the state in another murder trial in which some cowhand had murdered an innocent man. In exchange for his testimony in that case, Billy was supposed to have been pardoned for his role in the murder of Sheriff Brady. The letter from Billy to Wallace in this regard is in this courthouse museum. But Wallace never responded to Billy. It seems Wallace was too busy promoting his book back East. Wallace, you see, was the author of Ben Hur!So Billy languished in jail here awaiting his execution. Two weeks before his hanging, he escaped. Pat Garrett was out of town at the time. He left two deputies, Bob Olinger and James Bell, in charge of Billy in his cell on the second floor of this courthouse. Billy managed to get Bell's gun and shoot him dead with it. One of the bullets struck the masonry wall at the bottom of the stairs. That hole is still there. I stuck my finger on it. Billy also shot dead Olinger with his own shotgun. Billy escaped on horseback. Months later Garrett tracked him down in Fort Sumner, NM and gunned him down. Billy is buried, beside two of his buddies, in a small cemetery in that town. Garrett later suffered the same fate of being bushwhacked and shot to death in an unrelated matter.

Well preserved old west town. Not overly touristed. Made for a great day trip. Best to combine with a trip to Ft. Santon.

An interesting bit of history in beautiful country. The museums are small but well maintained. The $5 entrance fee covers all the historic buildings. Worth the trip.

Visiting Lincoln is like taking a step back through history and the main street looks akin to the time of the County Wars as you would imagine it. The gentleman in the visitors centre was pleasant and informative and watching the video of the history prior to visiting the buildings really brings things to life

If you are a Billy the kid fanatic it will be ok ..You will not find much to eat or drink,,,,,,,forget a beer.......the public restrooms are at the end of the town ,about a mile ? so plan how far you park and water intake.......you can see the all town in one hour.......definitely not a day trip.

Visiting Lincoln is like stepping back in time. The visitors center and the court house are worth taking a look but there is not much in the other buildings. I would have liked to walk around the store. Through the window I could see there were a lot of items in the store worth looking at, but for some reason it was closed the day we were there.

This is an important historical site too often overlooked. The museums with guides are more robust and offer more for visitors. There are few other amenities. Make sure to check out the video in the Visitor Center and beware of the hours of operation so that you don't arrive too late. Note: Plan your day and make time to see Fort Stanton and the Smokey the Bear monuments (the Fort is important, Smokey only if you have time). Finally, be careful of google maps directions. We got sent on a dirt road for some 5-10 miles E007 or something. We had no problems, but it would be a lousy place to get stuck without gas, a flat tire, or during a rain storm (flash flood).

Landed here on the right day as the museums are free to NM residents on Sundays. Started at the courthouse and spent a fair amount of time here reading information and history exhibits, then watched a 15 minute movie. Then strolled through town stopping in at the various museums and gift stores. Even on a Sunday afternoon there was enough to keep us busy. No good disabled access, and restrooms few and far between. We used the restroom where we ate The Wortley Hotel, which by the way had amazing food at reasonable prices.

This is one of those out-of-the-way places that looks much different than you would have imagined, especially as portrayed in the movies. Get out and stay awhile and wonder through some of the buildings and gift shops. It will be worth your time.

Such a quiet town. It was literally like stepping back in time. Had a wonderful lunch at the Dolan house. People in Lincoln were very friendly & informative. Could really get a sense of history & community in this small town. This place inspired us to go home & watch Young Guns with a better perspective. Would recommend to anyone who likes history or just wants a relaxing unique experience.

The entire main street of Lincoln is a step back in the past. We went the first weekend of August, during the Old Lincoln Days Festival, but according to the website, most of the museums are open year-round. We visited all six of the small museums, and they were very interesting - Billy the Kid, the Lincoln County War, etc. It was only $5, too. There's a lot more than museums - most of the buildings on the street are quite old. My only complaint is that there are few "real" bathrooms. There are a bunch of Porta-potties set up here and there, but sometimes the wait is long. You'll know where they are based on the smell. I understand that the plumbing in the old buildings may not be able to handle all the visitors, but I hope they build some real restroom buildings in the near future.