The Rio Bonito starts as a stream in the up-country to the west of Ft. Stanton, it continues through narrows just northeast of the Ft. Stanton Road and Hwy 380. Leaving the narrows it is joined by the Salado Creek as it gradually opens out into a beautiful valley the heart of which is la Placita, or Lincoln, and joins the Ruidoso at la Junta (the Junction) or Hondo as the town is now called. The valley contains many historical places; from Rancho Torres, known too many of our families, at the head of the valley, all the way down to las Chosas, home of the venerable Miranda families, just up from Junction Plaza.
For the purposes of this presentation, we are going to look at the three segments of the Lincoln Valley; the upper valley from Rancho Torres to Lincoln, Lincoln Town and the the lower valley stopping short of las Chosas and the Fritz Place. (They were included with la Junta in the 1880 Census and our study as well.)