Roswell is a city located in Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 45,293. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also the home of New Mexico Military Institute, founded in 1891. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located a few miles northeast of the city on the Pecos River.
In the 1930s Roswell was a site for much of Robert Goddard's later rocketry work. It is also the birthplace of actress Demi Moore, musician John Denver and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. A Hall of Famer in another sport, golf great Nancy Lopez, was raised in Roswell (though born in California). A Hall of Famer astronaut, sixth man on the moon Edgar Mitchell, went to school in Roswell. Roger Staubach (later of the Dallas Cowboys) played football at NMMI, and Lewis Lloyd (later of the Houston Rockets) played basketball there.
Roswell is most popularly known for being most involved with what is now called the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.
Roswell is located at 33° 23' 14" North, 104° 31' 41" West (33.387160, -104.528116).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 75.0 km2 (29.0 mi2). 75.0 km2 (28.9 mi2) of it is land and 0.1 km2 (0.04 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 0.07% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 45,293 people, 17,068 households, and 11,742 families residing in the city. The population density is 604.3/km2 (1,565.2/mi2). There are 19,327 housing units at an average density of 257.9/km2 (667.9/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 70.96% White, 2.47% African American, 1.28% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 21.29% from other races, and 3.31% from two or more races. 44.34% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 17,068 households out of which 34.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% are married couples living together, 14.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% are non-families. 27.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.58 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $27,252, and the median income for a family is $31,724. Males have a median income of $26,554 versus $21,408 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,589. 22.6% of the population and 18.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under the age of 18 and 13.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The first non-indigenous settlers of the area around Roswell were a group of pioneers from Missouri who attempted to start a settlement 15 miles southwest of what is now Roswell in 1865 but were forced to abandon the site because of a lack of water.
Van C. Smith, a businessman from Omaha, Nebraska, and his partner, Aaron Wilburn, established two adobe buildings in 1869 that grew into what is now Roswell. The two buildings became the settlement's first general store, post office, and sleeping quarters for paying guests. In 1871, Smith filed a claim with the federal government for the land around the buildings, and on August 20, 1873, he became the town's first postmaster. He called the town Roswell, after his father's first name. Roswell was originally established in Lincoln County. In 1887, changed to Chaves County. The Roswell, NM Post Office uses zip code 88201.
In 1877, Captain Joseph Calloway Lea and his family bought out Smith and Wilburn's claim and became the owners of most of the land of Roswell and the region surrounding it. The town was relatively quiet during the Lincoln County War (1877-1879). A major aquifer was discovered on the Nathan Jaffa Ranch near town in 1891, resulting in the area's first major growth and development spurt. The growth continued when a railroad was built through town in 1893.
During World War II, a prisoner of war camp was in operation in nearby Orchard Park. These prisoners of war were used to do major infrastructure work in Roswell, such as paving the banks of the North Spring River. Some German POWs used rocks or different sizes to create the outline of an iron cross among the stones covering the north bank. Some time after the iron cross was covered, with a thin layer of concrete. Some time in the eighties, the crew cleaning the river bed cleared off the concrete and revealed the outline. The small park just south of the cross was known as Iron Cross Park. On November 11, 1996 the park was named POW/MIA park. The same park has a piece of the Berlin Wall, presented to the City of Roswell by the Lufwaffe, on display.
In the early 1980s, a major manufacturer, TMC, which produced buses opened a factory in Roswell. The factory has been opened and closed repeatedly, resulting in cyclical swings of unemployment. TMC stopped building buses. Novabus started to used the same buildings to manufacture buses but also closed.
Roswell was also chosen as a campaign stop for George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, thanks to its strong Republican leanings.
Source:
RoswellNM.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS