Historical Note
During its brief, violent life, the town of Alma saw more murder, mayhem and bloodshed than any other settlement in New Mexico, culminating in the Apache siege of May 1880.
The Apaches, led by Victorio and aided by the even more terrible Nana and Geronimo, killed thirty-one whites in and around the town before the siege was finally lifted by a mixed force of soldiers, miners and local ranchers on May 15, 1880.
But other Apache raids followed and in 1882 two troops of the Eighth Cavalry camped near the village, remaining in the area for sixteen months.
During its boom years, Alma was a hangout for Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, and William Antrim, Billy the Kid’s stepfather, was a permanent resident. Billy stayed with him from time to time.
Alma is now a ghost town, and one adobe building and a tiny cemetery filled with victims of Apache raids and murder are all that remain of one of the West’s most turbulent settlements.