Old Fort Sumner and "Billy The Kid's" Grave - Fort Sumner, NM
Posted by: The Snowdog
N 34° 24.247 W 104° 11.597
13S E 574144 N 3807260
This historical marker at old Fort Sumner is near the entrance to the graveyard where Billy The Kid (and at least one of his victims) is interred; southeast of Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Waymark Code: WM135X9
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 09/23/2020
Views: 3
Old Fort Sumner was established in 1862, but was discontinued in 1968 and the property sold. Some years later William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, was shot and buried here; by age 21, he had himself killed eight men. One of his victims, Joe Grant, is also interred here.
The marker text is
OLD FORT SUMNER AND "BILLY THE KID'S" GRAVE
Fort Sumner was established in 1862 to guard the Navajo and Apaches on the Bosque Redondo Reservation. It was discontinued as a military post in 1868 and the buildings and site sold to Lucien B. Maxwell. William "Billy the Kid" Bonney was killed here by Sherriff Pat Garrett the night of July 14, 1881. Bonney is buried in the nearby cemetery.
You can read about the history of Fort Sumner at
here, and about William Bonney
here.