FORT SUMNER, N.M. — One of the most revered figures of the U.S. West, Billy the Kid, now has a new permanent stone monument installed at his gravesite in New Mexico.
The monument replaced a weathered wooden marker at his gravesite in Fort Sumner, which is one of the most-visited sites in Western lore.
“For generations, visitors have come to Fort Sumner seeking a connection to William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, one of the most recognizable and debated figures of the American frontier. But while the grave itself has become an icon of the American West, the story behind the grave — including its preservation, thefts, controversies and continued public fascination — has often gone untold. That story now has a permanent home,” the coalition stated.
Billy the Kid gained notoriety as an outlaw and one of the sharpest gunslingers on the frontier of the U.S. West. He participated in the Lincoln County War and, by some estimates, killed 21 men. New Mexico’s governor even placed a bounty on him months before Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed him in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881.
Billy the Kid died at 22 years old but his story has lived far beyond then.
From TV shows as recently as this decade, to movies that produced a 1973 Bob Dylan album, “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid,” with one of his most famous songs, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” Billy the Kid’s story has been immortalized in pop culture. Documentaries, museum exhibits, academic research and public debate have only further cemented his place in history and drawn people to Fort Sumner to see where everything happened.
“For years, people came to this site and saw a marker that no longer reflected the importance of the place or the story behind it,” said Josh Slatten, of Billy the Kid’s Historical Coalition. “This monument gives visitors something more lasting, more dignified and more historically meaningful. It helps tell the story not only of Billy the Kid but of the grave itself and the generations who have worked to protect it.”
The Billy the Kid Historical Coalition stated the monument is part of its broader mission to promote, preserve and protect the authentic history of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, as well as the people, places and events connected to that era.
