Roswell () is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Chaves County Chaves County is a county in New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,157. Its county seat is Roswell. Chaves County was named for Colonel Jose Francisco Chaves, a military leader there during the Civil War and ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in New Mexico. It is home to the

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

(NMMI), founded in 1891. The city is also the location of an

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

campus.

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in two separate sections in central Chaves County, New Mexico, United States, a few miles northeast of the city of Roswell. Both sections lie on the bank ...

is located a few miles northeast of the city on the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...

Bottomless Lakes State Park Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico, located along the Pecos River, about southeast of Roswell. Established in 1933, it was the first state park in New Mexico. It takes its name from nine small, deep la ...

is located east of Roswell on

US 380 U.S. Route 380 (US 380) is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are concurrent with US 69 in a loop around ...

. Chaves County forms the entirety of the Roswell micropolitan area. The

Roswell incident The Roswell Incident started in 1947 with the recovery of debris near Roswell, New Mexico. It later became the basis for conspiracy theories alleging that the United States military recovered a crashed extraterrestrial spacecraft. The debri ...

was named after the town, though the crash site of the alleged

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

was some north of Roswell and closer to

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

. The investigation and debris recovery was handled by the local

Roswell Army Air Field Roswell may refer to: * Roswell incident * Roswell, New Mexico, known for the purported 1947 UFO incident (see other uses below) Places in the United States * Roswell, Colorado, a former settlement now part of Colorado Springs * Roswell, Georgia ...

. On the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident, an annual UFO Festival was started. In the 1930s, Roswell was a site for much of

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully lau ...

's early

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

ry work. The Roswell Museum and Art Center maintains an exhibit that includes a recreation of Goddard's

rocket engine A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed Jet (fluid), jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stor ...

development workshop, and Goddard High School is named after him. Roswell's tourism industry is based on

ufology Ufology, sometimes written UFOlogy ( or ), is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary claims, extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial hypothesis, extrate ...

museums and businesses, as well as alien-themed and

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

-themed iconography. The city also relies on New Mexico and Americana related tourism including the

International UFO Museum and Research Center The International UFO Museum and Research Center is located in Roswell, New Mexico, United States, in the downtown district, and is focused largely on the 1947 Roswell Crash and later supposed UFO incidents in the United States and elsewhere. ...

. Local American folk and

New Mexico music The New Mexico music genre () is a genre of music that originated in the US state of New Mexico. It derives from Pueblo music in the 13th century, and with the folk music of Hispanos during the 16th to 19th centuries in Santa Fe de Nuevo Méxic ...

performances occur near Pioneer Plaza and in parks around the city. It is a center for

acequia An acequia () or (, also known as síquia , all from ) is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Acequias are found in parts of Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and what i ...

-like irrigated farming, dairying, and ranching; it is also the location of several manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum related facilities. Roswell has a history of

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. This regional pride has resulted in Roswell receiving the

All-America City Award The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...

multiple times, in 1978–79 and 2002.

History

left, The White family home, built in 1912, is now a museum Roswell New Mexico Flood

The first non-indigenous settlers of the area around Roswell were a group of pioneers from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, who attempted to start a settlement southwest of what is now Roswell in 1865, but were forced to abandon the site because of a lack of water. It was called Missouri Plaza. It also had many Hispanic people from

Lincoln, New Mexico Lincoln is an unincorporated village in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. Description The community sits in the Bonito Valley between the Sacramento Mountains and the Capitan Mountains at an elevation of . The village is located ...

John Chisum John Simpson Chisum (August 15, 1824 – December 22, 1884) was a wealthy cattle baron on the frontier in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century. He was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, and moved with his family southwest across t ...

had his famous Jingle Bob Ranch about from the center of Roswell, at South Spring Acres. At the time, it was the largest ranch in the United States. Van C. Smith, a businessman from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, and his partner, Aaron Wilburn, constructed two

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

buildings in 1869 that began what is now Roswell. The two buildings became the settlement's 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 A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. Smith was the son of Roswell Smith, a prominent lawyer in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

, and Annie Ellsworth, daughter of U.S. Patent Commissioner

Henry Leavitt Ellsworth Henry Leavitt Ellsworth (November 10, 1791 – December 27, 1858) was a Yale-educated attorney who became the first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, where he encouraged innovation by inventors Samuel F.B. Morse and Samuel Colt. Ellsw ...

. He called the town Roswell, after his father's first name. 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 area surrounding it. The town was relatively quiet during the

Lincoln County War The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the p ...

(1877–1879). A major

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

was discovered when merchant Nathan Jaffa had a well drilled in his back yard on Richardson Avenue in 1890, resulting in the area's first major growth and development spurt. The growth continued when the Pecos Valley Railroad arrived in 1892.Myrick, David, ''New Mexico’s Railroads, A Historic Survey'', University of New Mexico Press 1990. During World War II, a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

was located in nearby Orchard Park. The German prisoners of war were used to do major infrastructure work in Roswell, such as paving the banks of the North Spring River. Some

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

used rocks of different sizes to create the outline of an

iron cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

among the stones covering the north bank. Later, the iron cross was covered with a thin layer of concrete. In the 1980s, a crew cleaning the river bed cleared off the concrete and revealed the outline once more. The small park just south of the cross was then known as Iron Cross Park. On November 11, 1996, the park was renamed POW/MIA Park. The park displays a piece of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, presented to the city of Roswell by the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

. Roswell was a location of military importance from 1941 to 1967. In 1967, the Walker Air Force Base was decommissioned. After the closure of the base, Roswell capitalized on its pleasant climate and reinvented itself as a

retirement community A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves. Assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socialization op ...

. Roswell has benefited from interest in the alleged UFO incident of 1947. It was the report of an object that crashed in the general vicinity in June or July 1947, allegedly an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s, the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

regarding a classified program named " Project Mogul". Many

proponents maintain that an alien craft was found and its occupants were captured, and that the military then engaged in a cover-up. In recent times, the business community has deliberately sought out tourists interested in UFOs, science fiction, and aliens. Roswell hosted the record-breaking skydive by

Felix Baumgartner Felix Baumgartner (; born 20 April 1969) is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He is widely known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 and landing in New Mexico, United States, as p ...

on October 14, 2012.

Geography

Roswell is located in the

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

of southeastern

, approximately west of the

and some east of highlands that rise to the Sierra Blanca range. U.S. Routes 70,

285 The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year 1038 ''Ab urbe condita''"). The denomin ...

and

380 Year 380 ( CCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1133 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 380 for t ...

intersect in the city. US 70 leads northeast to

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

and west to

Alamogordo Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains (New Mexico), Sac ...

; US 285 leads north to Santa Fe and south to

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...

; and US 380 leads east to

Brownfield, Texas Brownfield is a city in and the county seat of Terry County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,936 at the 2020 census. Brownfield is southwest of Lubbock. History In 1903, town promoters W. G. Hardin and A. F. Small purchased the coun ...

, and west to Socorro. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and , or 0.18%, is water.

Climate

Roswell is located in both the High Plains and the Chihuahuan Desert and has four very distinct seasons, giving it a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(''BSk'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

. Winters are cool, but usually sunny, and

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

can occur. Spring is mild and usually warm, but can still be cold on occasion. Summers are very hot (as is common with the High Plains of

and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

) and averages around 30 days per year when the temperature rises above , which can be unpleasant. The North American

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

occurs during the summer, and can bring torrential downpours, severe

thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are som ...

(with high winds and

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

) and sometimes even

tornadoes A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

. The rain can provide a cooling relief from the scorching great plains heat. Fall is usually warm and pleasant, but can be cold late in the season. Snow is possible generally from late October to March. The record low in Roswell is on January 11, 1962, and February 8, 1933. The record high is on June 27, 1994.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 48,422 people, 17,929 households, and 11,844 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 20,220 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 54.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 20.9% from some other races and 19.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58.8% of the population. 26.0% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.6% were under 5 years of age, and 15.2% were 65 and older. The median income for a household in the city was $48,298, and per capita income was $25,906 (2018–2022 in 2022 dollars). In 2022, 23.2% of the population were living below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 48,366 people, 17,654 households, and _ families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 19,743 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 69.9%

, 2.5%

, 1.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1%

, 22.1% from some other races and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 53.4% of the population. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 18, _% were under 5 years of age, and 15.6% were 65 and older.

Education

Public schools

* Roswell Independent School District ** Goddard High School ** Roswell High School * Mountain View Middle School * Mesa Middle School * Sierra Middle School * Berrendo Middle School

Private schools

* All Saints Catholic School, a pre-K through eighth-grade Catholic school * Gateway Christian School, a pre-K through high school parochial school * Immanuel Lutheran School, a Junior Kindergarten through 9th grade classical school * Saint Andrews Catholic School, a K-6 Catholic School

Colleges and universities

-Roswell is a branch of Eastern New Mexico University (headquartered in Portales). The Roswell campus offers several certificate and associate programs. Also, bachelor's and master's programs are available via ENMU's Instructional Television System. *

offers four-year high school and two-year associate college-degree programs.

Sports

The Roswell Invaders play in the

Pecos League The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent professional baseball league headquartered in Houston, which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, ...

of professional baseball clubs. The Invaders wear lime-green uniforms to represent the city's extraterrestrial connections. Home games are played at the Joe Bauman Ballpark. Previously, Roswell was home to the Roswell Giants (1923), Roswell Sunshiners (1937), Roswell Rockets (1949–1956), and Roswell Pirates (1959), who played in the Panhandle-Pecos Valley League (1923), West Texas-New Mexico League (1937),

Longhorn League The Longhorn League was the name of a Minor league baseball circuit that operated from through in the Southwestern United States. In , it was renamed the Southwestern League and operated through before changing its name to the Sophomore Leagu ...

(1949–1955),

Southwestern League The Southwestern League was the name of four former minor league baseball leagues that operated in the Southwestern United States. The second league, also known as the ''Oklahoma State League'', was in operation for the 1904 season. The third ...

(1956), and

Sophomore League The Sophomore League was a Class D level minor league baseball league that operated from 1958 through 1961. League franchises were located in New Mexico and Texas. The league evolved from the Southwestern League, which played in 1956 and 1957. ...

(1959). Joe Bauman hit a minor-league record 72 home runs for the 1954 Roswell Rockets. Overall, Bauman hit .400 with 72 home runs and 224 RBI, 150 walks and 188 runs in the 1954 season.

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

inductee

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962– 1982 ...

played for the 1959 Roswell Pirates. Roswell was an affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 1959. Roswell is set to host the 2025

Reno Air Races The Reno Air Races, or Roswell Air Races, officially known as the National Championship Air Races, are a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that took place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, ...

, which will be held September 10-14, 2025. The 2024 air races were the last race held in Reno. Following a nationwide search to locate a new home, the Reno Air Racing Association moved the location of the 2025 air races to Roswell, New Mexico.

Transportation

Airport

* Roswell Air Center is served by

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

via its American Eagle regional airline affiliate. Its former name, Roswell International Air Center, still appears in some references and on some local signage.

Bus routes

* Served by Pecos Trails Transit

Intercity Services

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

Major highways

U.S. Route 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States ...

U.S. Route 285 U.S. Route 285 is a north–south United States highway, running 846 miles (1,362 km) through the states of Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. The highway's southern terminus is in Sanderson, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. ...

U.S. Route 380 U.S. Route 380 (US 380) is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are concurrent with US 69 in a loop around ...

Railroads

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

provides freight services

Local industry

Roswell is home to Leprino Foods, one of the world's largest

mozzarella Mozzarella is a Types of cheese#Semi-soft cheese, semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared using the ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy. It is prepared with cow's milk or buffalo milk, taking the following names: * or mozz ...

factories. It is also the location of the former Transportation Manufacturing Corporation factory, best known for producing various iterations of the RTS city bus since 1987. The factory was operated by

Nova Bus Nova Bus is a Canadian transit bus manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. Nova is owned by the Volvo Group. The company has roots in the General Motors Diesel Division, which opened in 1979. Nova Bus was established in 1993, by ...

from 1994 to 2003 and subsequently by

Millennium Transit Services The Rapid Transit Series (RTS) city bus is a long-running series of transit buses that was originally manufactured by GMC Truck and Coach Division during 1977, in Pontiac, Michigan. First produced in 1977, the RTS was GMC's offering of an Advanc ...

Cultural attractions

Roswell's tourism industry is based on

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

and

museums and businesses, as well as alien-themed and

-themed iconography. A yearly UFO festival has been held since 1995. The Roswell Museum maintains an exhibit that includes a recreation of Goddard's

development workshop, as well as a planetarium and a collection of fine art. The Roswell Artist-in-Residence (RAIR) program has an associated museum, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art which features more than 200 artists in the collection.

Notable residents

Robert O. Anderson Robert Orville Anderson (April 12, 1917 – December 2, 2007) was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist who founded Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). Anderson also supported several cultural organizations, from the Los Angel ...

, businessman and philanthropist * Bobby Baldock, U.S. federal appellate judge ( Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals) *

Tom Brookshier Thomas Jefferson Brookshier (; December 16, 1931 – January 29, 2010) was an American football player, coach, and sportscaster. He played as a cornerback with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, fro ...

, professional football player and sportscaster, was born in Roswell *

, pioneer, landowner, rancher * Louise Holland Coe, first woman elected to the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...

, first woman to run for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

, 1894–1985 * Max Coll, 15-term New Mexico House Representative (1966–1970, 1980–2004), grandson of James F. Hinkle * Ray Crawford, combat pilot and auto racer, born in Roswell *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

, singer and actor, born in Roswell *

Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is a retired television reporter, and also news anchor. He broadcast with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He was well known as the White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) with a boomin ...

, TV journalist, attended NMMI *

Pat Garrett Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender and U.S. Customs, customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Me ...

, sheriff, killer of

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

, rocket pioneer *

Susan Graham Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of ...

, opera singer * J.J. Hagerman, businessman and railroad developer * James F. Hinkle, Mayor of Roswell (1904–06), New Mexico State Senator (1912–1916), Governor of New Mexico (1923–25) *

Nancy Lopez Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 LPGA Tour, 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three women's major golf championships, major championships. ...

, LPGA Hall of Fame golfer *

Jody McCrea Joel Dee "Jody" McCrea (September 6, 1934 – April 4, 2009) was an American actor. He was the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. Career McCrea had small roles in his father's film, '' Wichita'' (1955). He was also in '' Lucy Gallant' ...

, actor, retired in Roswell *

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

, actress, born in Roswell *

Sergio de la Peña Sergio de la Peña is an American politician and retired United States Army colonel who was deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration. Career De la Pe� ...

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colonel, political candidate, and former

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

official *

Gerina Piller Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller (born March 29, 1985) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned pro in 2007 following a decorated career as a collegiate golfer at the University of Texas El Paso. In 2009, ...

, professional golfer *

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

, actress and businesswoman, lived in Roswell when stepfather was transferred to Walker Air Force Base * Clinton A. Puckett, 6th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Navy Cross recipient, raised in Roswell * James P. Riseley, Lieutenant General, USMC, retired in Roswell * Mike E. Smith, Hall of Fame jockey, born in Roswell * Austin St. John, first Red Power Ranger, born in Roswell *

Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 se ...

, quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Famer, attended NMMI

Gallery

Main Street Roswell.jpg, Main Street Federal Building and US Courthouse, Roswell, NM-side.jpg, Federal Building and US Courthouse Goddard High School Roswell.jpg, Goddard High School Goddard Planetarium Roswell New Mexico.jpg, Goddard Planetarium Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art-gallery, Roswell, NM-02.jpg, Gallery at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art Municiple Court, Roswell, New Mexico.jpg, Municipal Court Roswell New Mexico City Hall.jpg, City Hall Roswell New Mexico Public Library.jpg, Public Library Chaves County Courthouse.jpg, Chaves County Courthouse Hagerman Barracks, New Mexico Military Institute-02.jpg, Hagerman Barracks, New Mexico Military Institute

References

Notes

Citations

*''City Map, Roswell, New Mexico''. Roswell: Roswell Printing, 1976.

External links

City of Roswell – Official Website
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1869 Cities in New Mexico Roswell incident Cities in Chaves County, New Mexico County seats in New Mexico Micropolitan areas of New Mexico 1869 establishments in New Mexico Territory UFO culture in the United States