Hearse that carried famed lawman Pat Garrett returns to Las Cruces
The horse-drawn carriage-hearse that carried Pat Garrett to his cemetery grave in Las Cruces has returned to the city of the crosses and is now on display at the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office’ historical museum of lawmen.
Garrett was killed Feb. 29, 1905 in what is now east Las Cruces and was buried five days later. His gravesite is now in the masonic cemetery. He is most famous for killing Billy the Kid when he was sheriff of Lincoln County in 1881.
Garrett was the sheriff of Dona Ana County at the time of his death.
According to Jim Beasley, museum curator, the hearse was very unique to the area and $8 was charged to transport caskets.
Otherwise they were taken to cemeterys in wagons. The hearse was originally owned by the Women’s Improvement Association of Las Cruces which dates back to 1894.
The hearse’s most recent home was the Pinos Altos Arts Museum. The artifact was recently transported to its permanent home and is on display free to the public.
The museum is located on Motel Boulevard and is adjacent to the government center. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
According to Beasley, Garrett’s coffin was brought in from El Paso because there wasn’t anything big enough in Las Cruces because Garrett was 6-foot-5.
