Rural Roswell and South Springs Ranch

The wild west is exemplified in a pictorial history of Rural Roswell and South Springs Ranch, capturing accounts of ranching, war, and outlaws in the southeast region.

Years ago, much of southeastern New Mexico belonged to the "Cattle King of the Pecos," John Simpson Chisum.

His vast domain stretched up both sides of the mighty Pecos River, ranging from just south of Fort Sumner all the way down to Seven Rivers.

Chisum faced many challenges, surviving both the Lincoln County War and threats from its star player, Billy the Kid. From the 1870s until his death in 1884, Chisum called the Roswell region home. Significant ranching operations included Bosque Grande north of Roswell and the South Springs Ranch south of the fledgling town.

Chisum's various ranching outfits and those of his successors, like J.J. Hagerman, J.P. White's LFD Farm, the Oasis Ranch of East Grand Plains, farms and ranches of friends like Pat Garrett and John W. Poe, plus many other unique facets and locations in rural Roswell, are included in historic photographs.

John LeMay, author of over 50 historical titles, including Images of America: Roswell, and the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico use their extensive photograph archives to chronicle the history of John Chisum, his South Springs Ranch, and rural Roswell with over 200 rarely seen images.