Take a Walk into Tucumcari’s History…
Photo: Tucumcari’s 2nd Street and Main looking east (early 1900s), Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now Photos and Memories Facebook Group.
History Alive Walks
History Alive Walks provide a step back in time into Tucumcari’s amazing, often “rowdy” Wild West past. Listen to the stories, see the images and experience the rich history Tucumcari has to offer. Each year in October tours are offered taking you on an adventure to experience a unique time in area history and meet a few incredible people along the way.
Ghosts of the Old West: Cowboy Campfire Tales
Oct. 18 & 19, 2024 at 6pm at the Tucumcari Railroad Depot
This year we will be sitting around the campfire sharing history and old tales focussing around the 200 year anniversary of Bell Ranch and the surrounding area. The incredible and historically influential Bell Ranch, located north of Tucumcari, originated from a Mexican land grant held by Pablo Montoya in 1824.
Learn more about the amazing people who owned and ran the Bell, the influences the ranch had on not only the Old West but also into modern times, and some of the ghosts that may still haunt the area. You may get a chance to meet some special guests who will share some of their personal experiences and stories as well.
Sheriff Alex Street in Tucumcari’s first jail and courthouse.
(Photo: Tucumcari Historical Research Institute)
2023 Tour Sponsored By
The Hauntings of Alex Street 2023 Tour
2023 History Alive Walk noted Tucumcari’s connection to the bestseller and movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Former sheriff, mayor and a founder of Tucumcari, Alex Street made a name for himself as one of the “Nerviest of Investigators” of his time. From outlaw stakeouts on the old frontier territorial cattle trails, to an undercover federal agent in the legendary Oklahoma Osage murders and senior investigator in the brutal slaying of student Henrietta Schmerler on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona, among many others, Street made his mark as an unconventional lawman of the West, comparable to the likes of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.
The little eastern New Mexico settlement Street helped found, known in the early days as “Six Shooter Siding” and later called Tucumcari, was described as getting its wild beginnings on the prairie in the early 1900s fully outfitted with “slab shacks, tent saloons, clanking locomotives, howling men and painted ladies.”
Listen to Bunny Terry’s “I Love New Mexico” podcast about the History Alive Walks, Alex Street, and more on Tucumcari!
