Pat Garrett Murder Site
Pat Garrett, murdered on February 29, 1908, is well-known in Old West lore for his single-minded pursuit of William Bonney, known as Billy the Kid.
Garrett was born on June 5, 1850 in Chambers County, Alabama, and raised on his family’s plantation in Louisiana. He left home at the age of 19 and moved to Dallas, Texas, where he worked as a cowboy and buffalo hunter. In 1878, Garrett moved to New Mexico. He married but lost his wife within a year. Garrett then married her sister, Apolinaria, and the two had nine children.
Garrett met and befriended Bonney at a saloon where they gambled. The two were often seen together and earned the nicknames “Big Casino” and “Little Casino.”
In 1880, Garrett became the Lincoln County Sheriff. He immediately began his pursuit of Billy the Kid and his gang. After a series of cat-and-mouse ambushes, Garrett and his posse killed two of Bonney’s gang members and captured another four, including Bonney.
Bonney was sentenced to hang, but escaped from jail in April 1881 after killing two guards. Garrett once again pursued the fugitive. He caught up with him at Maxwell’s Ranch in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where he shot him dead.
The sheriff lost his reelection and became a rancher. Garrett found favor with President Theodore Roosevelt, who appointed him to oversee the El Paso, Texas customs office. Due to his unpopularity, Garrett was not reappointed. He then leased a small portion of his land to Wayne Brazel for cattle grazing, but soon discovered that Brazel instead had a thousand goats on the land. After a series of heated discussions, Brazel shot Garrett twice. Brazel claimed self-defense and was found not guilty after a one-day trial.
Research by Julie Wojtko, New Mexico State University
