HISTORIC DISTRICT EXPANDED

In 1997, the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, Inc. received a small grant from the State Historical Preservation Division to prepare a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historical Places for a first revision boundary addition to the Roswell Downtown Historic District, created in 1985.

As prepared, a total of seven blocks has now been added to the northern boundary of the present Historical District to the North Spring River channel (Pennsylvania and Kentucky). Historically, this is important because the only source of water in the early village of Roswell was the water from North Spring River.

A total of 30 contributing houses have been added to the District, as well as the small city-built "pocket park" on Pennsylvania along the North Spring River Trail which runs five miles through Roswell, from Enchanted Hills area to Spring River Park and Zoo. This little park has the only observation point to view the "Iron Cross" which was laid in the channel wall on the north side of North Spring River by German Prisoners of War II in 1943-1944. During World War II, a German Prisoner of War Camp was established just south of Roswell, and approximately 50 German stonemasons spent about two years "rip-rapping" the North Spring River flood basin channel all the way through the city. The prisoners worked on this German "Iron Cross" emblem using different colored stones. It is now a landmark on the National Register of Historical Places and will soon be suitably marked with an etched pictorial plaque.

In tracing the history of the houses added to the Historic District, we found that many early residents were prominent citizens of Roswell, including a 5th Judicial District Judge, a State Supreme Court Judge, a City Clerk and Treasurer, a County as well as a City School Superintendent and several local merchants.