Oliver Lee (New Mexico)

Oliver Milton Lee, commonly known as Oliver Lee (October 1865 – 15 December 1941) was a part-time deputy U.S. marshal, rancher, and gunfighter. Lee was born in Buffalo Gap, Texas and died in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where the Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is named for him.

Little is known about Lee's life prior to his moving to New Mexico from Texas with his mother. His marksmanship even at an early age is mentioned in "The Fabulous Frontier" (ISBN ). Lee worked as a Deputy US Marshal before turning to ranching. He was described in "Tularosa: Last of the Frontier West" (ISBN ) as "magnificently muscled, straight as a young pine, catlike in his coordination". "He had his mother's piercing black eyes which seemed to bore into you, and a chin like the rock of Gibraltar, but he always spoke softly." (A description of him at the age of 19.)

"Oliver Lee would turn a man off quicker for abusing a horse than for any other reason." (Sonnichsen)

"Dee Harkey in his "The Life of a New Mexico Lawman - Mean as Hell" (ISBN ) stated he had many dealings with Oliver Lee and "so far as I know or ever heard, he always dealt on the square." Nevertheless, it was not long before a range war of the Lincoln County type began to fester.

Lee moved into the area from Texas with his half brother Perry Altman. They planned to raise and sell horses as well as to acquire land. C.L Sonnichsen relates that Oliver and Perry soon met Cherokee Bill. He suggested that they buy out "Frenchy" who had a place in Dog Canyon where he was raising fruit trees. He told them the area had a reliable water source. Perry is quoted as saying, "Well, Oliver this country is so damn sorry I think we can stay here a long time and never be bothered by anybody else." Lee's fair play ethics did not set well with the local powerbrokers. The local power brokers at the time were Albert Fountain, John Good and others, mostly Republican.

Lee later became friends with Albert Fall. The alliance would last for decades. It also put him on the side of the Democrats, who were at odds with the Republican faction led by Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain. Fountain was a powerful rival to land owners Lee and Fall. The struggle between them was characterized in the book "The Two Alberts - Fountain and Fall" (ISBN ). The political party in the majority in the area was the Republican, and these were an extension of the Santa Fe Ring, a secret coalition of lawmakers determined to control public offices in the New Mexico Territory.

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