In 1889, Roswell patriarch Capt. Joseph C. Lea, Pat Garrett (the former sheriff who shot Billy the Kid), and land developer Charles B. Eddy ventured to the territorial council and house in Santa Fe to petition for the creation of two new counties from the massive Lincoln County in southeastern New Mexico. The request was granted and Chaves County officially came into being on February 25, 1889. Today, 120 years later, Chaves County still thrives with a population of more than 60,000 people and is the dairy capital of the Southwest, producing around 1.7 billion pounds of milk annually. Explored in this volume is Chaves County's earliest peoples and settlements, including Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman, Lake Arthur, and Elk. It also takes a look at long-forgotten towns such as Acme, Blackdom, Cumberland, Greenfield and even old ranching outfits and farms such as John Chisum's South Spring River headquarters, the Clifton Chisholm alfalfa farm, and many others.
