Lincoln

The first big trip we took here in New Mexico was to Lincoln. Situated about 3 hours from Las Cruces, Lincoln is of course most famously known for Billy the Kid. This "juvenile delinquent" (as one of my colleagues in the history department put it) spent a good share of his life in this town. As an avid enthusiast of Western history, living in New Mexico without seeing the places the famed Kid had walked would be unheard of. My love of the movie Young Guns may have played a part as well. We headed east across White Sands Missile Range on Labor Day. The route to Lincoln requires driving through the Mescalero Apache Reservation and into the Lincoln National Forest, on through the town of Ruidoso. This is a very beautiful drive, and one that made us long for Idaho. The town of Lincoln is quiet now, and many of the buildings no longer stand. However, some of the most famous buildings linked to the Kid and the Lincoln County War are still intact.

The Lincoln County Courthouse where Billy the Kid was held, but later escaped.

Standing in some of the same places where the players of the war once stood was exciting. Many historians, especially here in New Mexico, tire of hearing about the Kid and scoff at his popularity. One can debate whether he was a simply "juvenile delinquent" or not, but I think he was a more complex character than he is given credit. Either way, he is firmly entrenched in the history and mythology of New Mexico and the making of the American West.