The earliest non-native settlers to homestead in this valley arrived in the early 1850s, shortly after New Mexico became a U.S. territory. One of the first structures they built was this Torreón, which became the center point of the new village of La Placita del Rio Bonito, now known as Lincoln. The original structure included an eight-foot wall around the tower, and early settlers left accounts of sleepless nights spent in the tower fending off raiding Apaches. The Torreon not only provided sanctuary during Apache raids but also protected villagers during the Horrell War and provided members of the Murphy-Dolan faction a great vantage point from which to rain bullets down on the McSween House during the 5-day battle of the Lincoln County War.

As the frontier closed, the need for a Torreón diminished, and by the turn of the 20th century, the structure lay in ruins. In 1934, the Chaves County Historical Society and the Works Progress Administration worked together to rebuild the Torreón, marking the very first of many projects that have preserved the historic town of Lincoln for future generations.