That’s why Lincoln is #8 among True West Magazine’s 2010 Top True Western Towns. Virginia City, Nevada, won the top award. The True Western Towns will be featured in the January/February 2010 issue, it is already on the newsstands.

Volunteer groups are key to Lincoln’s success: Partners in Preservation, the Lincoln County Historical Society and the Old Lincoln Days Pageant Committee work together to preserve the many circa 1880 buildings. Those include the courthouse (from which Billy the Kid escaped in 1881), the Tunstall Store and the Montano Store.

In addition, the private home of Sheriff James Brent and the Watson House were renovated in 2009. Volunteers are working to restore the interior of the Fresquez House. And the Torreon, a defensive tower favored by fighters during the Battle of Lincoln in 1878, is being replastered.

“For such a small town—only 50 people live there—Lincoln does some big work,” says True West Executive Editor Bob Boze Bell. “That’s the reason Lincoln is a True Western gem, one that hasn’t changed much since the time of Billy the Kid.”

True West editors determine winners for this annual award based on criteria demonstrating how each town has preserved its history through old buildings, museums and other institutions, events and promotions of historic resources.