Built before 1868, this building is one of the oldest in Lincoln. During its life, it served as a store, a Saloon, and a community center for the village in the years before the Lincoln County War. On December 20, 1873, this building was the scene of one of the most horrific acts of violence ever perpetrated in Lincoln. Under the cover of darkness, the Horrell brothers and their allies surrounded this building, seeking revenge for the recent death of their brother. A wedding dance was being held inside, and the men unleashed a hail of bullets into the structure. Wounding one man and two women and killing four other men, including the father of the Bride, Isidro Patron.

From 1869 to 1881, the county paid $50 rent for two weeks to use it as a courthouse for the spring and fall sessions of the district court. It was in this capacity as the courthouse that the convento served as the location for Lincoln’s first legal hanging. On December 10, 1875, William Wilson was hanged on the gallows erected in front of this building. To the surprise of the crowd, Wilson was still barely alive after hanging for more than ten minutes. The sheriff then had Wilson carried back to the gallows, where he was hanged for a second and final time.

After county offices found a permanent home in the Courthouse in January 1881, this building was sometimes used as a schoolhouse but remained in private ownership. Local parishioners purchased the building and property in 1885, and it became part of the San Juan Church complex and was used for various purposes, including as a Priest’s House until the 1930s. It was during this latter period that it acquired its present name of Convento, signifying in Spanish a church building used for religious purposes other than worship. The building was conveyed to the State of New Mexico in 1962, and extensive restoration efforts began in 1964.