Roswell tourist information
Roswell was incorporated as a town in Fulton County on February 16, 1854. The city is named for the original settler of the area, Roswell King. King, and others, traveled from the Georgia Coast with the hopes of investing in mining. After discovering that this area was close to the Chattahoochee River, King was inspired to build a major textile mill powered by the water. The Roswell Manufacturing Co. and the Roswell Mill played key roles in the development of the town during its earlier history.
There are a number of historic homes in Roswell, including Bulloch Hall, the childhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt's mother, Martha "Mittie" Bulloch. The Archibald Smith Plantation is the preserved home of one of Roswell's founding families.
The Chattahoochee Nature Center, located in Roswell, encompasses 127 acres and has four nature trails that wind through wetlands and woodlands.
Roswell hosts a number of events each year including the annual Roswell Arts Festival in September, the Youth Day Parade in October, Holiday on the Square in December and the Roswell Roots Festival in February. The City also sponsors the Riverside Sounds Concert Series the first Saturday of the Month from May through October and the Roswell Magnolia Storytelling Festival in the spring. These annual events present arts and crafts, performances, Southern Bar-B-Q and great time for everyone
From the home of John Chisum to the Birthplace of rocketry; from just West of the Pecos to New Mexico’s fifth largest city; from agriculture to aliens, and just about everything in between, Roswell is truly a wonderful place to live. Will Rogers called Roswell the ‘prettiest little town in the west’ and we could not agree more. Founded in 1873 by Van Smith, the town was named after his father, Roswell Smith. Just a few years later and Roswell would find itself the hub for a frontier with John Chisum’s ranch just outside of town and Billy the Kid just over the hill in Lincoln County. Roswell was dominated by free spirited individuals, looking for a place to call home. A renowned scientist found Roswell a good place to call home. His name was Robert H. Goddard, and he brought an interesting profession with him. Goddard was the inventor of the modern rocket. Roswell proved to be a wonderful location for the testing of these early models, with vast open spaces all around, and a mild climate. That same open space proved to be attractive to the Army, which established Walker Air Force Base shortly after World War II. That base later played a key role in the 1947 incident involving an unidentified flying object, which allegedly crashed north of town. The headlines in the Roswell Daily Record proclaimed that the military had captured a ‘flying saucer.’ The resulting worldwide excitement was short lived, however, as the military later announced that it was nothing more than a weather balloon. However, the air of mystery regarding the ‘Roswell Incident’ would only continue to grow throughout the years.
Roswell experienced a major setback to its growth in the late ‘60s when the base was closed down. Almost one-third of the city’s population was lost. City residents banded together to rebuild and diversify the economy. Empty hangars, abandoned buildings, and a 13,000 foot runway were used as lures for aviation businesses and manufacturing companies. The ‘base’, re-named Roswell Industrial Air Center, (RIAC), soon became home to employers like Christmas by Krebs, the country’s second largest Christmas ornament manufacturer, AAR, an aircraft refurbishing and salvage company, and Dean Baldwin, a major aircraft painting company. The abandoned military hospital was converted to the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center, which treats patients from all over New Mexico and houses the ENMU Dental Clinic. The city’s community college was started on land donated by the military and has grown to a $38 million dollar campus, 3,000 credit students, and an additional 3,000 non-credit students per semester. The ‘Retire in Roswell’ campaign began in the 1970s, successfully recruiting hundreds of snowbirds and others looking for low taxes, mild winters, clean air, beautiful sunsets, friendly people, and other big city benefits without the hassle. Agriculture is a dominant force in the local economy. Cattle ranches, wool and mohair production, and farm crops that include cotton, alfalfa, chile and pecans thrive in the sun-drenched land around Roswell. The area packaged its land availability, low taxes, and distinctive hot, dry climate as the ideal market for dairies. In the 1980’s and ‘90’s more than 40 dairies were established - providing a perfect environment for Leprino Foods,
Roswell aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Roswell aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Roswell.
Roswell weather forecast
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