Lincoln, New Mexico

I visited this charming, quirky little town on the 9th of April.  It was the location of the Lincoln War, which was a turf dispute waged between competing store owners who supplied the region with general goods, and exported the mining town's precious metals back to the east.  The actual battle was fought by mercenaries, "hired guns" including Billy the Kid.  Everyone in town related some variation of the history to me, including a woman weaver, who's name I can't recall now, and an old man, who seemed to recall the fight first hand, and who had hand built the charming building we were in, which was now a store for the woman's woven goods.  The story of the Lincoln War seems to be the town's single merchandisable asset, and it draws the tourists for the weaving store and the several bed and breakfasts, which are run by the local 100 or so people living there, retirees, mostly.  The town features a rodeo reenactment of the story and the battle, complete with a stage set reconstruction of the very town in which the rodeo is located, making for some eerie photos.

Click here for a Flickr slide show of Lincoln