The Saga of Billy the Kid's Grave
by J. Younger
In the realm of dreams, one might imagine a poetic end for Billy, a final, romantic journey where his coffin, carried by the gentle currents of the Pecos River, drifts into the horizon, bound for a place known only to the heart’s imagination. Yet, fate wrote a different epilogue. Though a flood swept through Old Fort Sumner, the bodies in the Post cemetery, including Billy’s, remained steadfast, anchored to the earth. His legend, however, flows eternally, like a river of romance and rebellion, forever etched in the hearts of those who dream of the untamed West.
July 14, 1881:
Billy the Kid, also known as William Henry McCarthy, Kid Antrim or William H. Bonney, is presumably shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Pete Maxwell’s bedroom at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
1903:
Strong currents flow over the banks of the Pecos destroying the bridge on the road that led to Lincoln and likely more.
September 30 – October 8, 1904:
Colorado River floods causing the Pecos River to flood Fort Sumner again and it’s cemetery. Markers and some structures were swept away, including Billy the Kid’s, but the bodies all remained in the ground.
Spring 1906:
Charles W. Dudrow and W.E. Griffin lumber mill contractors, were commissioned by the U.S. Army to locate, disinter, and crate for transport, the remains of 22 military personnel buried at the Old Fort Sumner post cemetery. Charles Dudrow sketches a map of the cemetery marking The Kid’s grave and his two PALS. The location marked coincides with Deluvina Maxwell’s account of where he is buried.
1940:
After floods destroy Billy the Kid’s original wooden grave marker, J.N. Warner, a Billy the Kid enthusiast from Salida, Colorado, donates a 200 pound granite tombstone inscribed with:
“Billy the Kid The Boy Bandit King. He Died As He Lived.”
1950:
The granite tombstone is stolen from Fort Sumner’s cemetery, vanishing for 25 years.
July 1975:
Mr. and Mrs. Branham, former owners of a property in Granbury, Texas, inform Sophie Essinger at the Old Fort Museum that they believe the tombstone is at their former property, sold in 1969. The buyer, Mr. Wright, had uncovered it in the yard. Essinger photographs the stone, and De Baca County Sheriff Earl Turnbow coordinates with Hood County Sheriff to recover it.
June 19, 1976:
The tombstone is reset in a protective cage at Fort Sumner during the first “Old Fort Days” celebration.
February 1, 1981:
On the 100th anniversary of Billy the Kid’s death, the tombstone is stolen again. The cage’s locks are cut, and another unidentified tombstone is also taken. Sheriff McBride notes the lack of evidence, speculating it could be anywhere from a local ditch to New York City.
February 6, 1981:
New Mexico State Police Officer Marshall Warren receives an anonymous tip from Huntington Beach, California, indicating the tombstone is at a local residence. The tipster provides the location and the name of the thief, Walter Nicolson, a trucker who bragged about the theft at a party. Huntington Beach detectives Robert Russell and Ray Hattabaugh investigate, locate the residence, and recover the tombstone hidden under a blanket in a bedroom.
February 13, 1981:
Sheriff McBride, dressed in a Stetson hat, and cowboy boots, arrives in the big city of Los Angeles to retrieve the tombstone from detectives Russell and Hattabaugh. The tombstone is returned to Fort Sumner and secured in a stronger cage just in time for Old Fort Days and the centennial of Billy the Kid’s death.
1981 (Post-Recovery):
Walter Nicolson, the thief, arranges to turn himself in after learning of the burglary and larceny charges. His attorney, Charles R. English, argues the theft was a prank, though Fort Sumner residents view it as nearly as serious as murder. Sheriff McBride clarifies the community’s upset was due to the historical significance of the tombstone.
May 27, 2021:
Craig Robison, a former Huntington Beach detective involved in the 1981 recovery, visits Billy the Kid’s grave while passing through De Baca County. He shares the magnificent recovery story with the Rangers at the Bosque Redondo Memorial.
Dudrow's removal of Military personal at Fort Sumner
In 1905, Charles W. Dudrow, a contractor, was commissioned by the U.S. Army to locate, disinter, and prepare for transport the remains of 22 military personnel buried at the Old Fort Sumner post cemetery, then in Guadalupe County (now De Baca County, established February 28, 1917), New Mexico. The remains were reinterred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery on March 8, 1906, in graves numbered 674~695. As part of this project, Dudrow produced a detailed map of the Fort Sumner cemetery in 1906, documenting the arrangement of graves to facilitate the identification and relocation process.
The map is particularly notable for its depiction of civilian graves, including those of William H. Bonney (Billy the Kid), Charlie Bowdre, and Tom Folliard, all killed between 1880 and 1881. Dudrow’s map indicates that an associate of “Billy’s Gang” was buried several feet away from the trio, a detail that contrasts with local accounts asserting that Billy the Kid, Bowdre, and Folliard were interred side by side. Historical analysis suggests the map’s layout is accurate to within a few feet, though this discrepancy remains a point of scholarly debate.
Dudrow’s correspondence, detailing the identification and disinterment of the military burials, recorded between January 2, 1863, and February 1, 1868, is preserved in historical records, including appendices in publications examining Billy the Kid’s grave. The military graves, located on the western side of the cemetery, were successfully relocated, while civilian graves, including those of Billy the Kid, Bowdre, and Folliard, remained undisturbed.
Limited information is available about Charles W. Dudrow and his assistant, W.E. Griffin. Dudrow is known to be buried at the Old Vancouver City Cemetery in Clark County, Washington, with a lifespan of 1872~1937. Further research into Dudrow’s background and Griffin’s role is ongoing for additional context about their contributions to this historical effort.
