As we pulled out of Clovis for the quick trip to Santa Rosa (our stopping place for the night), we remembered that we would be passing the “official” museum and grave site of the legendary Billy The Kid. I say the “official” place because there seems to be a bit of a turf war in Fort Sumner about the grave and museum.
There is a private museum and then there is the museum owned and operate by the state of New Mexico. As we were driving, Keith got on the internet and tried to locate the “real” one and make sure they would be open on Sunday. A quick phone call to the museum and the answer was “yes.”
We took the detour off Highway 84, just outside of Fort Sumner, and started down the narrow road into nowhere. After about 3 miles, we could see a building ahead on the right…and this was the museum and “real” grave site.
This museum is privately owned and we made the decision not to pay the $3.50 for admission. But we did go around the building to check out the grave. I guess the grave stone is protected, enclosed in steel, because it has been stolen so many times.
The entire grave site of Billy and his friends is enclosed in a large steel cage to prevent vandalism and theft. It’s in the middle of a cemetery, surrounded by several other graves.
If you would like to watch a brief video of this grave site visit, just click here.