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New Mexico County
De Baca County, New Mexico
Fort Sumner - where Billy the Kid was killed and the Long Walk ended - from Billy the Kid's Fort Sumner death (on July 14, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed William H. Bonney - Billy the Kid - at Pete Maxwell's ranch near Fort Sumner, ending one of the American West's most famous outlaw careers - Billy the Kid is buried in the Fort Sumner Cemetery, and the Old Fort Sumner Museum preserves the story of the Kid's final days) to the Long Walk's Fort Sumner (the Bosque Redondo Reservation at Fort Sumner was where 8,000-9,000 Navajo people were imprisoned from 1863-1868 after the Long Walk - one of the most traumatic events in Navajo history - the Bosque Redondo Memorial preserves the memory of this forced internment).
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Office: De Baca County Emergency Management – PO Box 347, Fort Sumner, NM 88119 | Contacts Linda Boyd, (575) 355-2405, and Pasha Vinson, (575) 799-8247 / (575) 512-5379.
Sheriff: De Baca County Sheriff’s Office – 248 Avenue C, PO Box 347, Fort Sumner, NM 88119 | (575) 355-7433 | Fax: (575) 355-3276; Sheriff Robert C. Roybal.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. De Baca County Detention Center: (575) 355-7870.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-60/84 serves Fort Sumner, the county seat, in eastern New Mexico; De Baca is New Mexico’s smallest county by population.
Notes: De Baca County is named for Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca, the second elected Governor of New Mexico. Fort Sumner was built in 1862.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: De Baca County Courthouse – 248 E Avenue C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119 | County Clerk (575) 355-2601 | County Assessor (575) 355-7448.
Notes: Fort Sumner is genuinely the site of two of the most historically significant – and starkly different – chapters in New Mexico history. First, and most gravely: from 1863-1868, Fort Sumner guarded the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation, where roughly 9,500 Navajo (Diné) and Mescalero Apache (Ndé) people were forcibly interned after the brutal 450-mile “Long Walk” from their homelands – a U.S. government policy that caused the deaths of over 2,000 people from disease, starvation, and exposure before the reservation was abandoned as a failure in 1868, the same year the Navajo Treaty was signed there, creating the sovereign Navajo Nation. The Bosque Redondo Memorial, designed by Navajo architect David Sloan in the shape of a hogan and tepee, honors this history today (3647 Billy the Kid Drive, Fort Sumner, NM 88119, (575) 355-2537, Wed-Sun 10 AM-4 PM). Separately, and much later, outlaw Billy the Kid (William Bonney) was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881; his grave, protected by an iron cage due to repeated theft attempts, remains a well-known regional landmark.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: De Baca County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via debaca.nmgenweb.us or nmcounties.org. Note: NM disabled veterans receive free admission to the Bosque Redondo Memorial.
Federal: Albuquerque VA Medical Center (long distance).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current library address/hours via debaca.nmgenweb.us or nmcounties.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site, Billy the Kid’s grave and museum, Fort Sumner Lake, and Bosque Redondo Lake are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine, deeply significant Bosque Redondo/Long Walk history and the Billy the Kid grave site are among the most historically weighty facts covered anywhere in this project – the former should be treated with appropriate gravity and respect.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: De Baca County Assessor – 248 E Avenue C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119 | (575) 355-7448.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – De Baca is New Mexico’s smallest county; animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via debaca.nmgenweb.us.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: De Baca County Transfer Station – (575) 355-2000. Road Department: (575) 355-3601. County Treasurer: (575) 355-7395.
NOTES: De Baca County is the seventh and final county in the New Mexico v3 A+ sourced redo’s first batch (Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, Colfax, Curry, De Baca) – closing out this batch. The genuine, historically weighty Bosque Redondo/Navajo Long Walk history and the Billy the Kid gravesite are among the most significant facts covered anywhere in this project; the former deserves careful, respectful framing. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About De Baca County
De Baca County is where Billy the Kid was killed and where the Navajo Long Walk ended – Fort Sumner’s dual heritage as the site of Pat Garrett’s 1881 shooting of the Kid and the Bosque Redondo imprisonment of 8,000 Navajo people makes it one of the most historically layered small communities in the American West.
Fort Sumner (the county seat, population ~1,000) preserves both histories – the Billy the Kid Museum and the Bosque Redondo Memorial draw visitors to one of New Mexico’s most remote and historically significant communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
De Baca County Assessor at 514 Avenue C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119, phone 575-355-2601. NM assessed at one-third of market value.
Courts & Legal
De Baca County District Court at 514 Avenue C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119, phone 575-355-2896, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
514 Ave. C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
(575) 355-2601
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
514 Ave. C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
(575) 355-2601
Genealogy
PRIMARY STATEWIDE RESEARCH CENTERS (same across all New Mexico counties)
New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87507.
New Mexico Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 8283, Albuquerque, NM 87198.
County-level record sources
De Baca County Probate Court, Fort Sumner (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1930 De Baca County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated De Baca County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
De Baca County Probate Court De Baca County Courthouse, 514 Avenue C (mail: P.O. Box 347), Fort Sumner, NM 88119 (575) 355-7389
De Baca County was founded February 28, 1917, named for New Mexico governor Ezequiel Cabeza de Baca, in east-central New Mexico. It is New Mexico’s second-least populous county, seated in Fort Sumner. The 1930 De Baca County Courthouse, Colonial/Georgian Revival in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New Mexico adopted the Uniform Probate Code. New Mexico has a dual court system: the county PROBATE COURT handles informal, uncontested probate matters with minimal court involvement, and has concurrent jurisdiction with the DISTRICT COURT over informal proceedings. The District Court alone handles formal probate – contested cases, determinations of heirship, and trust matters.
Small Estate Affidavit / Affidavit of Successor in Interest (N.M. Stat. § 45-3-1201) – available when the value of the entire estate (after liens and encumbrances) does not exceed $50,000 and does NOT include any real property. At least 30 days must have passed since death. This skips probate court entirely – the affidavit is presented directly to banks, the DMV, or other institutions holding the property.
Homestead Transfer Affidavit for Surviving Spouse (N.M. Stat. § 45-3-1205) – available 6 months after death, when the surviving spouse and decedent owned a homestead as community property valued at $500,000 or less (for property tax purposes). The affidavit is recorded with the county clerk and can avoid formal probate for the residence, but only if funeral expenses, expenses of last illness, and all unsecured debts have already been paid.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates, filed with either the Probate Court or the District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. No hearing required.
Formal Probate – required for contested cases, disputes over heirship, or trust matters. Only the District Court can hear these.
Step 2: filing for informal or formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Court or District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. A probate may be started up to 3 years after death.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative notifies creditors; New Mexico’s creditor claim period is 2 months from notice to creditors – one of the shortest in the country.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes the remaining assets according to the will or New Mexico’s intestacy statute.
The estate is closed, typically within 6 to 12 months for straightforward, uncontested cases.
What it costs
The filing fee for probate in Probate Court is generally around $30 – notably lower than in most states. District Court filing fees run higher, commonly $100–$232 depending on the county and complexity.
New Mexico does not set a fixed statutory percentage for personal representative compensation; courts typically look to a reasonable guideline of about 2–4% of the estate’s value.
New Mexico has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
514 Ave. C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
(575) 355-2405
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
514 Ave. C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
(575) 355-2601
ELECTIONS
514 Ave. C, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
(575) 355-2601
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NM HSD — De Baca
hsd.state.nm.us
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: De Baca County Health Services – confirm current contact via debaca.nmgenweb.us.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Fort Sumner
Population: 1,800
Area: 2,363 sq mi
Established: 1917
Tier: 3
Public Records
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Search public records for De Baca County residents.
