The following contains some historical information but mostly game background events and the timing of most characters arrival in Lincoln County.
| Aug. 15, 1824 | John Simpson Chisum is born in Madison County, Tennessee. |
| 1831 or 1834 | Lawrence Gustave Murphy is born in County Wexford, Ireland. |
| 1846 | Mexican-American War begins. Stephen Watts Kearny annexes New Mexico to the United States. |
| 1848 | Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War. |
| 1851 | Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy arrives in the New Mexico Territory and establishes schools, hospitals, and orphanages throughout the territory including San Patricio near Lincoln. |
| Apr. 22, 1848 | James Joseph Dolan is born at County Galway, Ireland. |
| July 26, 1851 | L. G. Murphy enlists in the United States Army at Buffalo, New York. |
| 1854 | The Gadsden Purchase front Mexico adds 45,000 square miles to the territory |
| 1861 | Confederates invade New Mexico fronm Texas |
| 1862 | Battles of Velarde de and Glorieta Pass fought, ends confederate occupation of New Mexico. |
| 1863 | New Mexico is partitioned in half. Territory of Arizona is created. |
| Fall 1866 | L. G. Murphy and Emil Fritz, who Murphy met in the service, muster out of the army at Fort Stanton, New Mexico Territory. They become partners and form L. G. Murphy & Co. A store and brewery are established at Stanton that they own. Soon, the company is awarded government contracts that order them to supply beef, vegetables, and other supplies to Fort Stanton and the local Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency. |
| 1867 | John and Pitzer Chisum, brothers, arrive in New Mexico Territory. They start a ranch at Bosque Grande, a few miles south of Fort Sumner. |
| 1867 | Lily McCulloch starts a horse ranch on the Pecos river North of Fort Sumner. |
| 1868 | John White comes to Lincoln when John Chisum moves operations to New Mexico. |
| June 1868 | Cameron family arrives in Southern New Mexico. |
| Jan. 16, 1869 | Lincoln County is established. |
| Apr. 3, 1869 | James J. Dolan is mustered out of the U. S. Army at Fort Stanton. Shortly thereafter, he gets a job as a clerk working for L. G. Murphy & Co. |
| May 1869 | The Ragsdales arrive in Lincoln. |
| Sept. 6, 1869 | The first full election is held in Lincoln County. |
| October 1869 | Wayne Gardner arrives and starts work on the Chisum ranch. |
| March 1870 | Dr. Red Jackson arrives in Lincoln and sets up practice. |
| May 1870 | Jose Chavez y Sanchez moves to Lincoln and sets up a mill. |
| July 1870 | Zechariah Chamberlain moves to Lincoln and opens the Bank of Lincoln. |
| March 1871 | Irving Quimby starts prospecting in the mountains North of Lincoln. |
| May 1871 | Eli Lowell comes to Lincoln starting a ranch on land purchased from L.G. Murphy & Co. |
| July 1871 | Nicholas Hansen starts working for the Bank of Lincoln. |
| September 1871 | Zechariah Chamberlain first elected Mayor of Lincoln County. He's been Mayor ever since. |
| November 1871 | Alex H. "Ham" Mills comes to Lincoln looking for a employment as a lawman. |
| February 1872 | Celeste arrives in Lincoln and begins working in the "boarding house". |
| April 1872 | Matt Fletcher moves to Lincoln buying some land on the Northern boundary of the Chisum spread. |
| September 1872 | Ham Mills first elected sheriff of Lincoln County defeating William Brady. He's been sheriff ever since. |
| Oct. 25, 1872 | L. G. Murphy buys $8,647.50 worth of cattle from Johnny Riley in order to stock his new ranch at Carrizozo. The ranch is called 'Fairview Ranch.' |
| December 1872 | Celeste becomes madam of the local "boarding house". |
| February 1873 | Molly b'Dam becomes one of Madame Celeste's boarders. |
| Apr. 2, 1873 | John Chisum has his cattle moved to a new ranch he and his brothers started, which is about eighteen miles south of Fort Sumner. |
| May 18, 1873 | Over a dispute, hot-headed Jimmy Dolan attempts to shoot and kill one Capt. James Randlett at Fort Stanton. |
| September 1873 | Judge Nicodemus Grimes retires from the circuit court and settles in Lincoln. Jack O'Hooligan comes with him. |
| Sept. 30, 1873 | L. G. Murphy & Co. are evicted from Fort Stanton officially over Dolan's confrontation with Capt. Randlett. |
| Fall 1873 | In Lincoln, construction begins on the massive, two-story building that will become the store of L. G. Murphy & Co. The building will become known as 'The House' and 'The Big Store' to Lincoln residents. |
| February 1874 | Annie Hunt's husband dies in the influenza epidemic. |
| May 1874 | Cody Cartwright buys the saloon. |
| May 1874 | Kyle Worthy comes to Lincoln and starts work for L.G. Murphy & Co. as a ranch hand. |
| Apr. 1, 1874 | James Dolan buys a partnership in L. G. Murphy & Co. |
| June 3, 1874 | L. G. Murphy & Co. announce that the House is open for business in Lincoln. |
| August 1874 | Adelia Beauchamp moves to Lincoln and takes the job of school teacher. |
| September 1874 | Billy Morton returns from the Indian Wars and starts work in the Murphy ranch. |
| October 1874 | Prospector Jimmy Riley disappears in the Capitan Mountains. It's eventually decided that he just wandered off into the mountains and died in some secluded spot. The local Mexicans are convinced that El Lobo got him. |
| February 20, 1875 | Old Man Cameron killed in a stampede. |
| March 5, 1875 | The Holly Farm is raided by Mexican bandits. They are forced out of business because most of their cattle are rustled and they can't make their payments to L.G. Murphy & Co. |
| Spring 1875 | The Chisum brothers start a new ranch at South Spring, four miles southeast of the small town of Roswell, in Southwestern Lincoln County. |
| March 25, 1875 | Nicholas Hanson accidentally shoots himself. |
| April 2, 1875 | Lady Veronica Featherleigh arrives in Lincoln on holiday. |
| April 5, 1875 | Lilly Bernhardt arrives in Lincoln. Her show opens at the local theater the next night. |
| April 6, 1875 | Judge Jackson arrives in town for the fair. |
| April 1-8, 1875 | There is an influx of people looking for work associated with the fair. |
| April 10, 1875 | Day of the Lincoln County Fair!! (That's game day) |