The American West is a fascinating place full of a plethora of rich stories that contribute to the Hollywood Western. It’s no wonder that the genre has extended from comic books and radio to film, television, and the pages of mystery novels. The A&E-turned-Netflix seriesLongmireis a perfect example of the genre’s ability to cross over between two mediums, bringing to life the titular sheriff’s Absaroka County, Wyoming for a new audience. But where didRobert Taylorand the cast shootLongmire? Well, the answer might surprise you.
Walt Longmire is the dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit.
‘Longmire’s Production Mostly Filmed In New Mexico
WhenLongmirewas first announced back in 2012, fans of theCraig Johnsonseries of Walt Longmire mystery novels were shocked to learn that the A&E program wouldn’t be shooting in Wyoming, but rather in New Mexico.The greater Santa Fe area doubled as Absaroka CountythroughoutLongmire, though the production drove to different points throughout the Land of Enchantment to best capture the feel and tone of the series. The town of Durant, as seen on the show (including the Sheriff’s Department), is actually Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Walt’s home on that breathtaking plot of land is none other than the Valles Caldera National Preserve, which is about 50 miles southwest of New Mexico’s capital city (viaGigster). Yes, that’s the same place where Walt shootsGerald McRaney’s Barlow Connallyin the climactic episode “High Noon.”
There are plenty of other notable locations in theLongmirecatalog worth exploring though. The bank that Bob Barnes (Jim Bishop) robs in Season 6’s “Cowboy Bill” is Southwest Capital Bank in Las Vegas, and the Absaroka County courthouse used throughout the show is none other than the S. Federal Plaza in Santa Fe. Naturally, this meant thatLongmire’s Cheyenne Reservationwasn’t filmed onthe actual Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, but rather in the New Mexican deserts. Even Denver, Colorado, a location often revisitedthroughout the early years ofLongmireas Walt searches for his wife’s killer, is actually a repurposed Santa Fe that has been made to look like the Centennial State’s capitol. According tothe Santa Fe New Mexican, most of the interior shots were filmed at Garson Studios, a local studio on Santa Fe University’s campus. Neighboring areas such as Los Alamos and Pecos were likewise used as shooting locations throughout the series.
Of course,Longmireisn’t the only big series to film in New Mexico.Serious tax incentivesalso brought shows likeBreaking Bad,Better Call Saul,Godless, and, unsurprisingly,Roswell, New Mexico(itself a CW-based remake of the originalRoswell) to the Land of Enchantment. Around the timeLongmirebegan its six-season run,Disney’sThe Lone Rangerfeature film remakewas shot in the area as well, which has become a favorite of Western productions in recent years. Of course, plenty of film and television productions still make their home in New Mexico, but none were quite the unique blend of Western mystery and crime thanLongmire,which desperately needs to make its way back to television.
‘Longmire’ Eventually Made Its Way to Wyoming, Just Not the Way You’d Think
It’s not exactly a surprise thatLongmiredidn’t film in the state it was set in. The Paramount Network seriesYellowstone, which boastedLongmireco-creatorJohn Covenyas a producer in its early years,was initially filmed primarily in Utah rather than Montana. Sure, some of the Dutton Ranch bits were shot on-location on a real-life Montana ranch, but Park City, Utah wasYellowstone’s home for years before the series moved officially to the Last Best Place. Likewise, thoughLongmireremained in New Mexico throughout the entirety of its lifespan (both during the A&E and Netflix years),it eventually took some time to visit the actual land in which the series was based, even if it did so off camera.
Since 2012,Buffalo, Wyoming has taken the time every summer to celebrate a new event called “Longmire Days.“This multi-day festival brings author Craig Johnson to the stage as he engages with fans of both the books and the television show. In fact, many of the cast members from the series, including Robert Taylor aka Walt Longmire himself, have made their way to Longmire Days over the years, with popular locations such as the Busy Bee diner there to immerse fans in the world ofLongmire. While the show itself was never filmed in Wyoming,the Equality State has since rallied around the show and the aforementioned novels to promote tourismand get fans there to experience the land in its full glory.
According to theRapid City Journal,the show produced plenty of local fans in Johnson’s home state when it first aired on A&E. Called “Longmire Longnecks,” these fans flocked to their local bars on Monday nights to drink a bottle or two of Walt’s trademark beer (Rainier), which eventually became a problem when the actual supplier ran out. “In Wyoming, it’s like the Super Bowl on Monday nights,” the author explained back in 2014. “One bar owner told me that the last show his patrons would drive in to watch wasGunsmoke.“Longmirewas sadly canceled by A&E after three seasons, but Netflix eventually picked the program up for more, running six seasons total and 63 episodes from 2012 to 2017.
‘Longmire’ Author Craig Johnson Based the Fictional Durant on the Very Real Buffalo, Wyoming
For those wondering if Absaroka County, a land first describedin the pages of author Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery novels, is a real place, the quick and honest answer to that question isno. Absaroka County, named after the Absaroka mountain range that cuts into both Wyoming and Montana, exists in a fictional space in northern Wyoming, huddled next to the Montana border that might normally be reserved for Johnson, Sheridan, or Big Horn Counties (though Park or Campbell could be runners-up themselves). The fictitious 24th Wyoming County might not be a real place, but it’s certainly based on the God’s-honest land itself. In fact,Walt’s main hub in Durant is actually supposed to be Buffalo, hence why Longmire Days occurs there.
“I get asked why it is I didn’t set the Walt Longmire book series and consequently the A&E television show in an actual Wyoming county rather than in the fictitious Absaroka,” Johnson noted in an essay penned forCowboys & Indians. “I thought, however, that if I pulled a Faulkner and made up my own kind of Yoknapatawpha County, I could make this place emblematic of the rural West and maybe of rural areas all over the world.“Setting Walt Longmire in the least populated county in the least populated state in the Union was by design, and thus, Johnson began the journey that fans later relished on television. Additionally, it is worth noting that Absoroka County exists in what could have been, back in the late 1930s, the original 49th state, simply called Absoroka––a proposed landmass that would’ve taken from Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota to form another state smack in the middle.
“Swept away by the groundswell of World War II, the Absaroka movement fell along the wayside, but the allure of escape still permeates the region today,” Johnson explained. “Which may be why I base my novels in the fictitious county of Absaroka rather than a real county in northern Wyoming; I’m trying to keep a little secret.“That is part of what the Walt Longmire story is all about, after all: uncovering the hidden secrets of Wyoming. Walt starts off his journey inLongmireby trying to discover who killed his wife,and he ends the show by venturing off into the mountains in search of a lost treasure. Sure,Longmiremight’ve been filmed in New Mexico, but it still manages to feel distinctly Wyoming, albeit a highly fictionalized version of the Cowboy State.
Longmirecan be streamed on Netflix.
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