Fort Sumner is a village in De Baca County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,249 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of De Baca County . Fort Sumner is the spring and fall home of the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, and is home to the burial site of famed outlaw of the American West Billy the Kid.

History

Fort Sumner was a military fort charged with the internment of nearby Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868. The federal government closed the fort in 1868, and sold its buildings to Lucien Maxwell, a prominent New Mexico landowner, in 1870. Maxwell's son Pete befriended legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, and it was in his house that Billy was killed by Pat Garrett. Billy the Kid is buried in the old military cemetery in Fort Sumner as is Lucien Maxwell.

In the 1920s the Transcontinental Air Transport airline built an airfield in Fort Sumner as part of its coast-to-coast air passenger network, but the site was abandoned when the airline's ambitious plans collapsed in the Great Depression. The airfield was reopened by the Army Air Corps as a training base during World War II. After the war, the base became the Fort Sumner Municipal Airport, and was chosen as a launch site for NASA's high altitude balloon program.

Geography

Fort Sumner is located at .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,249 people, 533 households, and 312 families residing in the village. The population density was 374.6 people per square mile (144.8/km²). There were 680 housing units at an average density of 204.0/sq mi (78.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 81.91% White, 0.80% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 15.29% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48.28% of the population.

There were 533 households out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 31.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $19,583, and the median income for a family was $28,625. Males had a median income of $24,722 versus $16,953 for females. The per capita income for the village was $13,327. About 20.4% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Interesting facts

• In 1866, the US government was holding thousands of Native Indians captive. Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving saw business there and decided to sell beef so that the starving captives were fed. This was to lead to the Goodnight-Loving Trail, far enough west so to avoid any contact with mobs wanting the superior Longhorn cattle.
• 1881 Billy the Kid, the famous outlaw, was shot here.

References

External links

• Fort Sumner Chamber of Commerce
• History of the stratospheric balloon research made at Fort Sumner