McSween House

Does anyone know the floor plan of the Mcsween House or where I could find a picture of the floor plan? I know it played a very important part in the Lincoln County War and would like to know what the lay out of the house looked like.

Novalee Meadow wrote:

Does anyone know the floor plan of the Mcsween House or where I could find a picture of the floor plan? I know it played a very important part in the Lincoln County War and would like to know what the lay out of the house looked like.

In Fredick Nolan's book "West of Billy the Kid" there is a drawing of the outside of the McSween home with arrows pointing to areas where certain men were positioned during the Lincoln co. war. Its not really a floor plan though.

I should have added that the drawing was how the house appeared in 1878.

On youtube there is a interview with a Salazaar and at the very end there is a glimpse of the original wallpaper from the Mcsween house.It is actually what looks like a whole wall so that proves that the entire house didn't burn to the ground.I know this is off topic but I tought it was kinda neat to see something that was in the house at the time Billy was there.

Being an adobe structure reinforced with wood…you are right, it did not completely burn. The remains were pushed over in the 1970’s I believe, and there is a pile of rubble in the lot between the Tunstall store and the small house that now stands where part of the McSween house used to be. Nest time you are in Lincoln check it out. It’s on private property though, so you should view it from the Tunstall store.

It was a u-shaped adobe building open to the north.Sue McSween said the wings were connected by 'a verandah' in front.There must have been a connection behind the verandah also.The Shield family occupied the east wing,There was a kitchen at the northern end of each wing.

The defence was a really sloppy affair.How the opposition could walk in to each kitchen in turn and set them alight beggars belief,especially as they were forewarned: Sue McSween saw Beckwith carrying a bucket of coal oil as she came back from her confrontational interview with Col Dudley.Peppin told her they were going to set the house alight..Bonney actually watched Jack Long and the mysterious Dummy set the fire in the northeast kitchen;Andy Boyle appears to have been with them for some of the time.
Bonney did nothing ,but Mrs Shields was trying to move her furniture outside so this may have been his reason for not shooting.Mrs McSween also saw the arsonists,she did'nt recognise Dummy either.

Cullum's eatery,where Dolan,Evans,Bonney and others were heading for a post truce feed of oysters Feb 18 1879 when they ran into the unlucky and soon to be murdered Huston Chapman, was on the site of the McSween house.There don't appear to be any pix of the house or the ruins.Jack Long's sketch at the DCOI gives a good idea of the battle arena.

I wish we could find a legit floor plan or even better a picture of the house now that would be too cool.

I saw on one of the other forums that there was a sketch that someone from Lincoln who had been in the house did before it burned had done from memory. It may have been Chris Lampe who was talking about it but I don’t remember. Sorry. All I recall is that it was "U" shaped, with the McSween’s living mainly on one side and guests on the other. There was reportedly a patio or courtyard area in the middle. Perhaps, like so many houses of that period on New Mexico you went from room to room on the outside. It seems I recall that Peppin built the place, or at least participated in remodeling it to some large extent.

It was Chris Lampe he always has such good info when it comes to BTK.

I also came across an old West magazine from the 70s that had an article about an archaeology dig where the McSween house had stood. If anyone would like to see article just tell me and I will email it to you. Thats probably easier It is in the February 1987 issue of True West.

linda J wrote:

I also came across an old West magazine from the 70s that had an article about an archaeology dig where the McSween house had stood. If anyone would like to see article just tell me and I will email it to you. Thats probably easier It is in the February 1987 issue of True West.

I would love to see it.My E-mail addy is judyholiday@charter.net Thanks in advance Linda.

The best I've seen is two speculative floor-plans in Bob Boze Bell's "Illustrated Life". The first was done by Robert Mullin and was based on interviews with people who had been in the house and testimony from the Dudley Court of Inquiry. The second was done by Nora Henn after discovering a deed that indicated the house actually had more rooms than Mullin gave it. Nora Henn basically added two more rooms to the east end of the house.