Lincoln, New Mexico | |
|---|---|
 Lincoln Courthouse and Jail, whereBilly the Kid was held | |
  Lincoln  Lincoln | |
| Coordinates:33°29′31″N105°23′02″W / 33.49194°N 105.38389°W /33.49194; -105.38389 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Lincoln |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 189 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
Lincoln is anunincorporated village inLincoln County, New Mexico, United States.
The community sits in the Bonito Valley between theSacramento Mountains and theCapitan Mountains at an elevation of 5,696 feet (1,736 m). The village is located approximately 57 miles (92 km) west ofRoswell (by road) and just north of theLincoln National Forest. Lincoln is the primary community in zip code 88338, which had a population of 189 residents in the 2010 census. The village is centered around a 1 mile (1.6 km) stretch ofU.S. Route 380 (also known as the Billy the Kid Trail[1]), which is the village's only street. Numerous historic structures dating as far back as the late 1800s still remain, many of which have been preserved and now operate as public museums.
Originally calledLa Placita del Rio Bonito (The Place by the Pretty River) by the Hispanic families who settled it in the 1850s, the name of the community was changed to Lincoln when Lincoln County was created on January 16, 1869. Lincoln was at the center of theLincoln County War, 1876-1879, and is primarily known today for its historical ties toBilly the Kid. The village holds an annual festival called Old Lincoln Days in August featuring an open-air enactment ofThe Last Escape of Billy the Kid.[2]
Lincoln has been Federally designated as theLincoln Historic District, and also as a New Mexico State Monument called theLincoln Historic Site. These designations, along with the efforts of generations of local residents, have made Lincoln one of the best preserved old west towns left in existence and the most visited monument in the State of New Mexico.[3]
For about a year duringWorld War II, the Old Raton Ranch, an abandonedCivilian Conservation Corps camp on the outskirts of Lincoln, was used to confineJapanese American railroad workers and their families. All 32 internees came fromClovis, New Mexico; the town's entire Japanese American population was placed under house arrest shortly after theattack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, and theImmigration and Naturalization Service "evacuated" them to Lincoln on January 23, 1942. Unlike the "assembly centers" where most Japanese Americans spent the first months of their wartime incarceration, access to school, employment and recreational activities was not permitted in Lincoln. On December 18, 1942, the internees were transferred to several of the more public concentration camps run by theWar Relocation Authority.[4][5]
Lincoln has numerous historic structures, nine of which are open to the public as museums operated byNew Mexico Historic Sites. These include theCourthouse whereBilly the Kid killed deputiesJames W. Bell andBob Olinger, theTunstall Store, theConvento, theTorreon and others.The Anderson Freeman Visitor Center has interpretive displays and artifacts that depict the history of Lincoln and the Bonito Valley.
Municipalities and communities ofLincoln County, New Mexico,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Town | ||
| Villages | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
