We are returning to old Lincoln Town as one of the Lincoln County Sesquicentennial events. Lincoln County was founded in 1869 thanks to Saturnino Baca (and probably Lawrence Murphy too). Both of them were Army officers who came to Fort Stanton in late 1862 to re-garrison and rebuild the fort, while trying to bring the Mescalero Apaches under control. The Mescaleros were taking advantage of - from their point of view - the odd War between the States and heavily raiding Hispanic settlements on the Pecos, Bonito, Ruidoso rivers and other areas. When Baca and Murphy got out of the Army, they both stayed in Lincoln and began their second careers, first as the Post traders and Indian traders, and then concurrently as merchants, bankers, debt collectors, schemers, rustlers, politicians, Irish Mafia, and anything else they could cook up to get peoples' money and or property. It was, after all, still post-Civil War depression, and the Boys were just making a living in creative ways, allbeit scoundrelish. This is Lincoln, as in the "Lincoln County War." So be sure to bring squirtguns of various caliber and capacity (you know, just in case the Murphy-Dolan and Tunstall McSween factions turn out)
We'll meet at the picnic area on the east side of the Bonito Valley Brewing Company (one of our sponsors), a short walk east from the Wortley Hotel. The Lincoln State Historic Site is also one of our sponsors and is helping produce our event booklet. We'll start at 10:00 am and by 10:30 am or so off you go to find about 16 caches, in relation to families that were here in 1869 and are still here, and in commemoration of various happenings at the time. Once again, this could be challenging due to the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway extent and places that the various characters hung out. Yep, some driving and some hiking - to use an 1869 phrase - "certain sure…!"
We'll be having a potluck. As the main drag through town was the ..."most dangerous street in America," according to Rutherford B. Hayes, one can never tell what might happen during our 5:00 PM Dinner & Awards time - remember what transpired the last time we were here, and also at the No Scum Allowed over in White Oaks (another place we should return to).
As in the past, prizes awarded for FtF (First to Finish) and also who brings in the most trash and most unusual trash (a CITO event in disguise). As this is Lincoln - special prize(s) for those of you whom at Dinner/Awards wear 19th-Century clothing!