Roosevelt

Formed February 28, 1903 (24^th county)

Roosevelt County (19,197), Portales (12,141)

The tan brick and masonry Art Deco courthouse is on a square at 1^st Street, Main Avenue, 2^nd Street, and A Avenue.  United States Highway 70 is 2^nd Street in the city.  This courthouse was built in 1937.  Robert E. Merrell is the courthouse designer.  A Magistrate Courthouse was added in 2016.  There was a 1903 courthouse also in Portales, the only county seat.  Roosevelt County was established on February 28, 1903 from parts of Chaves and Guadalupe counties as the 24^th county.  The county was named for United States President Theodore Roosevelt.  The county seat’s name is Spanish for “the entries or doors”. 

Roosevelt County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, a treasurer, an attorney, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Five District Court Judges serve Roosevelt and Curry counties (judicial.)  Roosevelt County is in eastern New Mexico on the border with Texas.  Roswell, New Mexico is southwest and Lubbock, Texas is southeast of the county.  The county center is 6.9 miles Southwest of Portales.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Curry County and Texas and Lea, Chaves, De Baca, and Quay counties. 

The area of the county is 2449 square miles.  It is 24 out of 33 in the state.  It ranks 21 out of 33 in population in the state.  It has a density of 7.8 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 33 in the state.  Roosevelt County has 65.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 60 crosses the northern tip of the county coming from Curry County and going into De Baca County.  United States Highway 70 enters from the northeast, Curry County, and exits to the southwest, Chaves County.  United States Highway 84 is joined with U.S. Highway 60 from Curry to De Baca counties.  The county roughly looks like a map of the State of Texas minus the western extension toward El Paso.  Portales is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Portales is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 63.2% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced POER-TAL-ES.  This county is in the Portales Micropolitan Statistical Area.