Q4W3 Billy the Kid Part 1

The most famous conflict in New Mexico took place in Lincoln County in southeastern New Mexico. Lincoln County occupied a fifth of all New Mexico Territory. It was the largest county in the entire United States.

By the 1870s, Lincoln County was dominated by an Irish immigrant and businessman named Lawrence G. Murphy. He controlled much of the local economy and all local politics. It was said that no one could get a job or run for political office without his approval. Murphy even controlled who was sheriff and how he enforced the law. In 1876, Murphy had fellow Irishman William Brady elected sheriff

Murphy’s power extended beyond Lincoln County. He was a suspected member of a powerful group called the Santa Fe Ring. Members of the ring were businessmen and politicians who, like Murphy, controlled large parts of the territory. Ring leaders were corrupt (dishonest) and often resorted to violence. Even some territorial governors were suspected of being members or friends of the Santa Fe Ring.

Few challenged the power of the Santa Fe Ring. But, in 1876, an Englishman named John Henry Tunstall moved to Lincoln, bought a ranch, and opened a store in the town of Lincoln. Tunstall hired many cowboys to work on his ranch, including a young cowhand named William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. Murphy soon recognized Tunstall as competition and a threat to his economic and political power.