The entire Lincoln County War happened because these neighbors couldn’t get along. What’s interesting is that McSween right up to the last was L.G. Murphy’s lawyer, and McSween was legally fighting Jimmy Dolan over Emil Fritz’ estate (Murphy, Dolan and Fritz were partners). So the famous 3-Day or 5-Day War happened across the street from the Dolan House. To your left is the Tunstall Store across the street and down the street is Murphy’s Store, “The House” (Lincoln County Courthouse). All the action occurs from the Ellis House at the other end of town to this location. McSween house was actually where the Fresquez house now stands.
James J Dolan, very politically connected, and Governor Lew Wallace hired Pat Garrett as sheriff of Lincoln County specifically to arrest and kill Billy the Kid. At the time life in Lincoln County was “tough.” Everyone had to be on one side or the other – no one could remain neutral. Because it was so hard to survive there were no good guys or gals.
The Dolan House was built in 1883 and 1884 by Elijah Dow and George Peppin. Dolan had 20,000 adobe bricks made for the house. The house consisted of six rooms and an entry way. All six rooms in the main house are the same size - 14 feet X 14 feet with 12 foot ceilings and 20 inch thick walls. At the back of the house there was a breezeway and then a separate building that served as the summer kitchen and dining room. There was a large porch on the east side of the house. A well was located close to this porch. The well is still there and is 50 feet deep – 3 ½ feet wide. It was hand dug and rocked to the bottom. The large porch was closed in sometime in the 1920’s and now serves as the formal Dining Room. During the 1920’s and 1930’s the house was known as the Bonito Inn and they took in boarders. Lew Wallace wrote some of Ben-Hur on the porch of the Bonito Inn. Douglas Fairbanks spent time at the Bonito Inn while researching Billy the Kid. The town folks were amused with him as he always jumped over the picket fence instead of using the gate. Currently there is no picket fence in front of The Dolan House. The floors in Jimmy Dolan’s office, Caroline’s Parlor and the entry way are the original pine wood floors. The original fireplaces remain in both rooms. Bill and Beverly Strauser purchased the house in 2007 and began extensive renovations – restoring the house back to as original as possible. In the 1880’s there were no pictures taken inside houses so they hope they have gotten it close to the way it was.