Lincoln County, New Mexico
Enjoy the descriptive stories on our beautiful area: the rich history and the breathtaking environment.
Capitan, isolated about twenty scenic miles north of Ruidoso on US Highway 48, twelve miles west of Lincoln and twenty miles east of Carrizozo on U.S. HIghway 380, is in the heart of Lincoln County. Originally the village was named "Gray" by the settler Seaborn T. Gray in 1896 and renamed Capitan for the mountain peak in 1900 by the El Paso and Northwestern Railroad.
Some years before the founding of Capitan, Mescalero Indians roamed the region and descendants of pioneers from Mexico had begun to infiltrate the Bonito, Hondo Valley and Ruidoso areas. By the late 1870s there was a large influx of settlers, many from the surrounding states. Stock raising was a lucrative occupation, gold and coal had been discovered. The economic influence of Fort Stanton insured the development of the village. Among the businesses in Capitan reported by the White Oaks Eagle in1900 were "...two saloons...a shoemaker's shop...a blacksmith's shop and two livery stables." (Herbert L. Traylor, Early Capitan, unpublished).
Nearly a century later the influx of homesteaders into Capitan continues. The mode of transportation has changed significantly from a prairie schooner to a pickup with a camper top. Tourism has replaced mining, farming and ranching as the principal industry. Newcomers respond to the beauty of Lincoln County with its history and Old West atmosphere. Modern Capitan merchants are artists and craftsmen who paint, sculpt, weld, weave and design furniture, restauranteurs, innkeepers and shopkeepers. The community offers the services of a bank, feed and hardware stores, convenience store, laundromat, grocery, physician, chiropractor, massage therapist, three hair styling salons, dance studio, photography studio, RV park, post office, kennel, fairgrounds with stock pens and rodeo arena, numerous churches, a newly opend public library, fine school system and the famous Smokey Bear and State Park.
Extract from Museum of New Mexico State monuments
P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087
505-476-5085
Located 12 miles east of Capitan on U.S. 380, Lincoln is one of the many points of interest along the Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway. Travel this byway and experience both the breathtaking beauty and volatile history of New Mexico.
Lincoln is a town made famous by one of the most violent periods in New Mexico history. Today's visitors can see the Old Lincoln County Courthouse with museum exhibitions that recount the details of the Lincoln County War and the historic use of the "House" as store, residence, Masonic Lodge, courthouse and jail.Walk in the footsteps of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and other famous and infamous characters of the Wild West. Trace the events of 1878 through the Courthouse and the Tunstall Store, with their preserved 19th-century atmosphere.
The Tunstall Store contains displays of the original 19th-century merchandise in the original shelving and cases.
And we have much more Old Wild West history in our backyard ......
White Oaks, the mining boomtown in the 1880s is just a few miles away from Capitan. Several landmark buildings still stand: two Victorian homes and the massive Exchange Bank building and many abandoned adobe structures. White Oaks is now a ghost town and a tourist attraction. Visit the White Oaks Schoolhouse Museum, built in 1895. It now hosts family reunions, art tours and an extensive collection of mining and pioneer memorabilia.
And we are still making history ......
Richard Farnsworth earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Alvin Straight in 'The Straight Story'. He played with heroes like John Wayne. He earned the Canadian Genie and ..... should we go on. Farnsworth died summer 2000 and lived on his ranch outside Lincoln.
