On U.S. 285, 0.2 miles south of East Orchard Park Road (County Road 59), on the right when traveling north.
Camp Roswell was one of the first and largest base
camps built in the U.S. and was located on Orchard
Park Road. The camp operated from August 1942 to
February 1946 and interned 4,816 German POWs at
its peak. Camp construction was similar to . . . — — Map (db m235365) HM
On U.S. 285 at milepost 88, on the right when traveling south.
West of this location stood the now abandoned community of Blackdom. The community was founded circa 1908 by Francis Marion Boyer and his wife Ella. Several dozen African American families homesteaded nearly 15,000 acres of land and built a . . . — — Map (db m56143) HM
On State Road 2, 0.5 miles south of East Chicksaw Road, on the left when traveling south.
Completed in 1926, the Rio Felix Bridge was one of the most important structures in New Mexico’s highway system. The bridge was placed across the river at nearly a 45-degree angle to increase stability during floods. Constructed with three 144 foot . . . — — Map (db m56141) HM
On U.S. 285, 1 mile north of State Road 438, on the right when traveling south.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was established to provide employment for the nation's young men during the Great Depression of the 1930's. More than 50,000 were enrolled in the program in New Mexico between 1933 and 1942. CCC enrollees at the Lake . . . — — Map (db m56142) HM
On U.S. 70 at milepost 314, on the right when traveling east.
During the Cold War (1946-1989), this area became home for twelve Atlas missile silo sites — America’s first operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system. They protected the Strategic Air Command facilities at Walker Air Force Base . . . — — Map (db m73724) HM
On U.S. 380 at milepost 165, on the right when traveling west.
When 19th Century cowboys attempted to measure these lakes by tying lariats together, they found no bottom and declared the lakes “bottomless.” Today we know these sinkholes, formed by collapsed salt and gypsum deposits, are 17 to 90 . . . — — Map (db m73455) HM
On Main Street near E. 4th Street, on the right when traveling north.
Chaves County
Courthouse
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
1985 — — Map (db m102803) HM
On Main Street at E. 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Dedicated to
The Men and Women of Chaves County,
New Mexico Who Served Their Country
During the Persian Gulf War
1990 — 1991
by
Roswell Cares Support Group — — Map (db m102806) WM
On Main Street at E. 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
In Remembrance of
The Veterans of All
Wars and Military
Actions Who Made
The Supreme Sacri
Fice With Grateful
Appreciation from
The Citizens of Chavez
County
Nov. 11, 1983 — — Map (db m102807) WM
On Main Street at E. 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Memorial Wall Dedicated To All Citizens Of Chaves County
Who Served And Died Defending Our Freedom
( engraved on the stone wall )
World War I
Pvt. Alter, Cecil W. · Baker, Ray A. · Bozarth, Lewis Hath · Pvt. Bradley, Floyd L. · Pvt. . . . — — Map (db m102802) WM
On U.S. 285 at West 11th Street, on the right when traveling south on U.S. 285.
This tablet is erected in memory of Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard who here laid the foundations for the science of rocket propulsion. He used this tower from 1930 to 1942 for launching liquid propellant rockets, to develop a means for . . . — — Map (db m167746) HM
On U.S. 380 at milepost 167, on the right when traveling west.
This famous old cattle trail, running 2000 miles from Texas to Wyoming, was blazed in 1866 by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving. In New Mexico, the trail followed the Pecos River north to Fort Sumner, where the government needed beef to feed the . . . — — Map (db m73457) HM
Near Campus Circle at West College Boulevard, on the right when traveling west.
The barracks quadrangle was constructed in segments from 1909 through 1952, and completely refurbished in 1978. The quadrangle was named for railroad pioneer J. J. Hagerman and his son Herbert J. Hagerman who served as territorial governor of New . . . — — Map (db m196778) HM
Listed on the National Register of Historical Places, contractor
David Young Tomlinson began construction on this house in 1910
and completed it in 1912, the same year New Mexico became a state.
Taking cues from Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie-style . . . — — Map (db m235388) HM
On Main Street near E. 4th Street, on the left when traveling north.
Roswell’s first building was erected near this spot. Built by James Patterson, the 15 by 15 foot trading post was a rest stop along the Goodnight Loving Cattle Trail. The trading post was later acquired by Van C. Smith who, around 1870, added onto . . . — — Map (db m102893) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling south.
John S. Chisum, a western icon, is generally recognized as the early West's most prominent cattleman.
In the mid-1870s, Chisum was the largest cattle producer in the nation, with as many as 80,000 longhorn steers in his herd. Beginning as a . . . — — Map (db m73451) HM
Before the construction of the elegant courthouse that stands here today, a smaller courthouse constructed in 1890 was home to Roswell’s judicial system.
In 1889, prior to construction, Captain Joseph C. Lea, Charles Eddy, and Pat Garrett (the . . . — — Map (db m73527) HM
Near Campus Circle at West College Boulevard when traveling west.
Named for Captain Joseph Calloway Lea (1841-1904) who proposed the foundation of the Institute, and who gave the first buildings and the original site for its establishment as Goss Military Institute in 1891, on the west side of present Main . . . — — Map (db m196782) HM
On U.S. 380 at milepost 165, on the right when traveling west.
One of the first female radio stars in the 1930s, Louise's career spanned from 1918-1950. Her recordings in English and Spanish sold millions of copies. Heading the Roswell-based group, Louise Massey and the Westerners, she became known . . . — — Map (db m73454) HM
On Main Street at E. 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
In Memoriam
N.M. 200th Coast Artillery AA Regt.
8 Dec.1941 – First Into Battle W.W.II
15 Aug. 1945 – Liberated
From Death Camps
“Let Us Not Forget Their Faith In
God and Country”
Donated by V.F.W. Post 2575 . . . — — Map (db m102804) WM
On North Virginia Avenue, on the left when traveling south.
In the frontier west, Pat Garrett has to be considered as one of the most famous and effective of legendary law officers. Six feet, five inches tall, he was an imposing and implacable foe of western criminals. An honest and honorable lawman, . . . — — Map (db m73452) HM
On U.S. 285, 0.1 miles north of West College Boulevard, on the left when traveling north.
Named in honor of Colonel Daniel Cecil Pearson Born 1881 • Died 1956
D. C. Pearson served NMMI over a 50-year period starting in 1906 as Commandant of Cadets. He was also an Instructor, Dean, and in 1927 became Superintendent. The 22 years he . . . — — Map (db m130071) HM
On U.S. 285 at U.S. 70, on the right when traveling south on U.S. 285.
Roswell was a watering place for the Pecos Valley cattle drives of the 1870s and 1880s. It was incorporated in 1891 and is seat of Chaves County, named for Col. J. Francisco Chaves, Civil War soldier and delegate to the U. S. Congress from the . . . — — Map (db m38460) HM
On East Second Street, on the right when traveling west.
Roswell was a watering place for the Pecos Valley cattle drives of the 1870s and 1880s. It was incorporated in 1891 and is seat of Chaves County, named for Col. J. Francisco Chaves, Civil War Soldier and delegate to the U.S. Congress from the . . . — — Map (db m73453) HM
On SE Main Street (U.S. 285) 0.4 miles north of East Brasher Road, on the right when traveling north.
Roswell was a watering place for the Pecos Valley cattle drives of the 1870s and 1880s. It was incorporated in 1891 and is seat of Chaves County, named for Col. J. Francisco Chaves, Civil War Soldier and delegate to the U.S. Congress from the . . . — — Map (db m119935) HM
On North Richardson Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented the “New Deal,” a plan for ending the Great Depression. His economic program was was based on relief, recovery, and reform and included the introduction of the Works Progress Administration . . . — — Map (db m104410) HM
On North Main Street south of West 5th Street, on the right when traveling south.
This location incorporates two of downtown Roswell's most historic buildings. East of this location is the Chaves County Courthouse, built in 1911. It is one of the best surviving examples of courthouses built in the Beaux Arts Revival "monumental . . . — — Map (db m56139) HM
On Main Street near E. 4th Street, on the left when traveling north.
Roswell’s first general store and post office stood near this spot. The building was constructed by Van C. Smith in 1870 and hosted a somewhat famous postmaster, Ash Upton, who was a political player in the Lincoln County War and the ghost writer . . . — — Map (db m102896) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling south.
Joseph C. Lea enrolled his son Wildy in Fort Worth University, a noted military school. Lea was so impressed with his son's education that he recruited the superintendent of the school, Colonel Robert S. Goss, to found a military institute in . . . — — Map (db m104395) HM
Near West 10th Street, 0.1 miles west of North Pennsylvania Avenue.
During World War II a prisoner of war camp was established by the War Department near Orchard Park southeast of Roswell, which housed some 4800 German prisoners of war. On January 1, 1943, the first prisoners arrived there from the “Afrikacorps”, . . . — — Map (db m72748) HM
On U.S. 380 at milepost 196, on the right when traveling east.
This site is named for Victor H. Waldrop and stewardship for is shared by the New Mexico Department of Transportation and local bird enthusiasts. Wind blown-sand deposited at the base of Mescalero Ridge forms a 60 mile expanse of open dunes and . . . — — Map (db m73458) HM
On Relief Route at South Main Street (U.S. 285), on the right when traveling east on Relief Route.
Roswell Army Air Field was established in 1941 and renamed after New Mexico native Brig. Gen. Kenneth Walker in 1948. Once the Strategic Air Command’s largest base, its bomber fleet and Atlas missiles were key deterrents during the early years of . . . — — Map (db m119809) HM
On Campus Circle, 0.1 miles north of West College Boulevard, on the right when traveling west.
Completed 1927
Named in honor of
Colonel James William Willson 1872-1922
Commandant 1898–1901
Superintendent 1901–1922
Colonel Willson came to NMMI in 1898 and was the prime mover in developing this school into a premier military . . . — — Map (db m196787) HM
