Photos Courtesy of HSSNM
The Chisum Ranch at South Springs (currently still operating as the Jinglebob).
Ranches Past &Present in the Roswell Area
Throughout the history of Roswell and the surrounding area, many prominent and famous ranches and ranch families have been a part of its development. In 1874, John S. Chisum, known as the “Pecos Valley Cattle King,” moved his headquarters thirty-five miles south from Bosque Grande to what is now known as South Spring Ranch about 3 miles from present day Roswell. George W. Littlefield and his nephews Phelps and Tom White then established the LFD Ranch on Chisum’s old Bosque Grande site. Together these two operations controlled an open range stretching from Ft. Sumner on the north to Seven
19 Roswell: 100 Years of History
Rivers to the south, and east to the New Mexico-Texas line. In the early 20th century the LFD Ranch was legendary in eastern New Mexico. Although the ranch properties are long since disposed of, the LFD area east of Roswell, and the old LFD School still bear the name of the original Ranch. The Diamond A Ranch was homesteaded in 1882 on the north side of the Hondo River, resulting eventually in the control of a vast property of some 300 square miles of open range. This ranch finds its beginnings with the Bloom and Thatcher families of Pueblo and Trinidad in southern Colorado. Those two families, related by
by J. Phelps White III
marriage and connected by extensive banking and other business enterprises, began cattle ranching as a family operation in the late nineteenth century in their home state of Colorado. The cold winters and adverse weather conditions forced them to look south. In the 1880s, southeastern New Mexico was attractive. Today much of the original Diamond A Ranch is owned by Mr. Gerald J. Ford of Dallas, Texas. In addition, he owns several other historical ranches in the Hondo Valley, making him one of the major land owners in New Mexico. Locally, two of the more prominent pioneer families were