The Palace of the Governors / Santa Fe New Mexico

The Palace of the Governors has always been a highlight of Santa Fe tourism, and for a good reason. It is one of the most unique structures in the United States. Located directly on the Santa Fe plaza, this historic site is in easy walking distance from many Santa Fe hotels.

The Palace of the Governors located directly on the north side of the plaza served as Spain’s official seat of government in what was called Nuevo Mexico. The adobe structure with four foot thick walls was built in the early 17th century after the founding of Santa Fe in 1610. Today, the Palace of the Governors is one of Santa Fe’s most interesting cultural museums. The building was placed on the list of National Historic Landmarks in 1960. The Palace of the Governors museum consists of period rooms. The exhibitions at the Palace tell stories of over 400 years of New Mexico history starting with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition from Mexico into the southwest. It was Coronado’s expedition that was in search of the seven Cities of Gold and along their path came in contact with several Native American tribes such as the Zuni’s in the area of present day southwest New Mexico. Coronado and most other Spaniards in New Spain (Mexico) had heard many rumors from the Aztecs about these cities to the north built of gold. This 1540 expedition was also the first introduction of Franciscan friars into the southwest.

Another distinction for the Palace of the Governors is that it is recognized as the nation’s oldest continuously used public building. The building was constructed between 1610-1612 and features a unique combination of Spanish and Pueblo Indian design. These structures are generally referred to as adobe and are found throughout the southwest.
The Palace of the Governors also has the distinction of having served as the governmental seat for several different rulers of the territory. The Spaniards, who built the structure were obviously the first and their governor reported directly to the Viceroy of New Spain who resided in Mexico City. After the Mexican revolution in the 1820’s the building was used as the Mexican governments seat of Nuevo Mexico. After the Mexican American War in 1848, the United States occupied the building as the seat of government of the new official New Mexico Territory. At that time the territory comprised what are now the states of New Mexico and Arizona. This building served as the territorial governors palace. Today, Santa Fe still serves as the capitol of the State of New Mexico in the modern building complex just a few blocks south of the plaza.

Prior to the 2009 opening of the New Mexico History Museum, located adjacent to the Palace of the Governors, the Palace structure built in 1610 served since 1909 as New Mexico’s history museum. It was where the finest artifacts of the history of New Mexico were housed. The exhibits in the museum chronicle the entire period of first Spanish settlement in the area. What tourists in Santa Fe will also experience are the many Native Americans under the building’s front portico who sell their genuine jewelry and other art products on a daily basis. The Native vendors who sell in front of the Palace building are licensed to guarantee that what is being sold are genuine native American made items. The selection of various merchandise offered is fascinating and you don’t want to miss taking a look. The Native American vendors program assures that you are purchasing legitimate art rather than fake knock-offs. The artists come from the surrounding pueblos and this gives you a unique chance to meet the artists themselves.

The Firearms of Sharpshooter Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley no doubt gained her shooting ability while hunting as a child. Some believe her father may have introduced her to firearms at a very early age.

One story is that Annie’s first shot taken at a squirrel with her father’s old Kentucky rifle. This probably would have been before even eight years of age. Shooting contests were quite popular when Annie was young and she entered many of them. The story there is that she won so many of these contests that many of the events began to bar her from entering. It was at one these popular events that Oakley met her future husband, Frank Butler.

Annie Oakley’s Firearms

So what were the guns that Annie Oakley liked?

Many people who try to find out what models of guns Oakley employed during her long career find out that the list was quite long. Annie Oakley, the famous sharpshooter and star performer in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West, used a wide variety of firearms during her life.

In fact, years after her life, one such gun was sold for a mere five dollars by a relative in 1940. The gun sold was a Remington Beals. The Remington Beals was a very rare rifle. Supposedly only 800 hundred were manufactured during the two year period 1866-1868. Remington actually manufactured a few different models of the Beals, such as the Navy Beals and the Army Beals, however the model that Annie Oakley was known to use was produced in this small number. The rifle was a .32 caliber, single shot gun. This particular Remington model was used by Annie Oakley often in Cody’s Wild West.

As I mentioned above, if you’re trying to figure out what that “special rifle” was that Oakley used, it’s going to be difficult.

In addition to the Remington Beals model, Oakley used a large assortment of both rifles and pistols. These include both Smith and Wesson and Colt revolvers, a large assortment of shotguns including the Hibbard double barrel and several .22 caliber rifles.

As a side note, during her long career with the Wild West, one of Oakley’s more popular shooting demonstrations while performing with Cody’s Wild West was hitting a dime tossed ninety feet away. She generally used a .22 rifle for this one. Often she reportedly used a Marlin lever action .22 caliber rifle similar to the close-up photo below right. This photo is courtesy of www.adamsguns.com. In regards to shotguns, there’s a story that circulated that Annie was having trouble using the shotgun and supposedly was fitted with a better model in England. It is known that in addition to the Hibbard shotgun, Annie also at one time tried Lancaster and Francotte models.

Oakley was also known to give out some of her guns as souvenirs.

Whether it was a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the legendary Annie Oakley was masterful with them all. Some of these guns have made it back over the years to the National Firearms Museum in Washington D.C. for public display. The Garst Museum in Greenville Ohio which features the Annie Oakley Center also has some of her authentic guns on display.

My understanding is that an Annie Oakley gun is also on display at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody Wyoming.

Annie Oakley purchased a Model 3 Smith and Wesson handgun in 1888. This would have been while she was touring with Buffalo Bill. The Smith and Wesson design pioneered the use of sealed cartridges for quick loading and rapid firing. The Smith and Wesson Model 3 shown in the photo below is courtesy of www.adamsguns.com. There are also flyers that pop up every so often that point to Annie Oakley preferring this gun or that. Colt ran advertisements around the year 1913 regarding Oakley preferring that firearm during her daily performances. Although, by 1913 Annie had retired from the Wild West and was putting on demonstrations sporadically.

Below are links to our Trips Into History article regarding Samuel Colt, his repeating pistol invention and a family tragedy involving his brother. Also the article, The Woman Called Calamity Jane…

Samuel Colt, His Personal Successes and Trials

The Woman Called Calamity Jane

Another related and very interesting article is the story of Frank Butler and Annie Oakley, the sharpshooting duo. On our Western Trips site we also have an interesting article with photos about the 1800’s Frontier Firearms.

Annie Oakley honed here sharpshooting skills at an early age. Annie was born in 1860 and lived in poverty after her father passed away.

Annie actually began hunting and shooting at the age of eight. It was necessary in order to  support her siblings and her widowed mother.

The game she obtained from hunting around Greenville Ohio allowed her to bring in money by selling it to both restaurants and local townspeople. The story is that the proceeds from Annie’s hunting allowed her mother to pay off the mortgage on the farm. This all happened when Oakley was a mere fifteen years old.

Annie was quoted in a publication of hers “Powders I Have Used” as stating, ” When I first commenced shooting in the field in the Northern part of Ohio my gun was a single barrel muzzle loader, and as well as I can remember was a 16 bore”. She further states in ” Powders I Have Used” regarding her first guns, “My first real gun was a breech loading, hammer, 16-gauge made by Parker Brothers. I was proud of that gun. One hundred brass shells came with it. These I loaded with DuPont black powder, and continued to do so after I joined the Wild West Show, always using wads two sizes larger, so that the shot would not loosen in the second barrel”.

Concerning the various powders Annie used, she states that the first smokeless powder was called “Ditmar“. She then tested another from England which was named “Schultz“. In fact, while the Wild West was touring England, Annie’s husband, Frank Butler, went to the Schultz factory to learn more about using it. Annie Oakley was known however to try just about any new powder that came to market including a French powder when performing there. From my research it appears that the American Schultz powder manufactured by DuPont in the U.S. may have been Annie’s favorite.

Annie Oakley used many different firearms and powders during her career. There is not one firearm that Oakley used exclusively. It appears that she actually used or at least tried out almost every model gun manufactured. I’m certain she had favorites but with her sharpshooting skills she probably was a sure shot with just about any.

(Photos and images from the public domain)

 

Billy the Kid in Santa Fe New Mexico

Strolling around town is one the most popular things to do while visiting Santa Fe New Mexico. Historic sites and landmarks are everywhere. For those interested in old west history, one must see landmark is located just a few blocks west of the plaza. Walk west down San Francisco Street and you’ll come upon a plaque on the side of a building on the south side of the street. This plaque marks the site of an old Santa Fe jail that at one time, and probably a few times, house the infamous Billy the Kid. His real name has been disputed for over a century. Depending on the source the Kid’s real name was either Henry McCarty or William Henry Bonney. What is somewhat agreed upon is that he was born in Brooklyn New York. The other agreed upon fact is that the Kid spent his teen years living in Santa Fe.

Billy the Kid was a well known outlaw during the 1870’s who gained a lasting reputation during what was called the Lincoln County Wars between 1876-1878. Lincoln County was at the time a vast area comprising what is now southeastern New Mexico. In fact, it comprised all of southeastern New Mexico.

Today, the area comprises several different counties. The Lincoln County war was essentially a bloody feud between to factions operating in the town of Lincoln. One faction which were prosperous merchants had been entrenched for years and pretty much controlled politics. They also had lucrative contracts providing the military with supplies. This was the Murphy-Dolan group. The other was the McSween -Tunstall group who were also merchants and were trying to unseat the incumbents.

Sporadic gunfire and bloodshed between the two groups went on for a long time. Both sides had hired guns in their employ. Sheriff William Brady was shot and killed during this time and the shooter was said to be Billy the Kid who was aligned with the McSween group. The Lincoln County War was thought to be the event which turned the Kid into an outlaw. Also, a lawyer named Chapman, representing the McSween group was gunned down in the streets of Lincoln allegedly by gunmen of the Murphy faction.

Eventually the Lincoln County war ended in 1878 largely by the intervention of federal troops, many of which were the Buffalo Soldiers, stationed at nearby Fort Stanton. There were many arrests of which the most notable was the arrest of Billy the Kid by then Sheriff Pat Garrett. Garrett arrested the Kid for the murder of sheriff William Brady and brought him up to Santa Fe and jailed him in the old jail which reportedly in the building pictured left. This site is also near the historic Lensic Theater on San Francisco Street.

After Billy was transported to Santa Fe where he spent three months in jail in 1880 and then sent to a town in southern New Mexico to stand trial for the Brady killing. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang. He was then transported over to Fort Sumner in Lincoln county and jailed. As the Kid had done numerous times he found a way to escape from the jail. He actually had quite a reputation for jail breaks. Once again sheriff Pat Garrett was on his trail. This culminated on July 14, 1881. on this date Billy the Kid was killed by sheriff Pat Garret.

There is dispute in how the Kid was killed. Was he shot in a fair fight or shot in the back? That question will probably never be answered with any certainty. What was ironic was that Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid were at one time good friends. Another ironic thing about the Kid was that while he was a hunted fugitive, many of the Mexicans in New Mexico held him in high regard and offered him assistance while on the run.

When you stroll around the adobe structured streets of Santa Fe New Mexico, you may want to see this historic site for yourself.