First up is the safe in the Tunstall Store. Tunstall was a businessman from England who was assassinated, indirectly, by a rival businessman named Dolan. Billy the Kid was one of several people associated with Tunstall and his partner McSween. In the subsequent fighting about 20 people died. Could not get a good picture of the dial.
Next up is the safe in the old Murphy-Dolan store. Tunstall's store put the store out of business. The building then became the county court house. Billy the Kid was held there, in the court house, after being sentenced to death. He escaped from the court house, killing two guards in the process. The vault is under the court room itself where Billy the Kid was chained to the floor. The vault could have dated from when the building became a court house, but the way it was built into the building points to it dating from the Murphy-Dolan store era. The patent date on the dial is from 1871. There was a lever lock on the inside door.
Was given a tour of the area by, and spoke at length with, a historian whose master's thesis was on the war. There is a tendency for dime-a-dozen-writers to try to twist the story to fit their narrative, so to speak. The Wikipedia article on the Lincoln County war is mostly BS. This short PBS account of it is better: http://www.pbs.org/weekendexplorer/newmexico/ruidoso/ruidoso_lincoln.htm Robert Utley and Frederick Nolan have good books on the subject if anyone is interested.
