I was working inside this weekend and decided to take a break and take some photos of the historic Chaves County Courthouse.
In 1911, Chaves County officials hired the Rapp brothers, architects from Trinidad, Colorado, who had recently completed the National Guard Armory and the master plan for the buildings and campus of NMMI, to design a new Courthouse, this current one.
Word is, the people of Chaves County spared no expense on their Courthouse because statehood was fast approaching and they knew the Federal Government would take over all county financial obligations as soon as New Mexico became a state. Therefore, their fancy new Courthouse would cost the people of Chaves County nothing!
Today, the Juvenile Detention Center remains but the Chaves County Jail and Annex at the rear of the Courthouse were demolished in 1996 when a new Chaves County Detention Center (at East Brasher Road and South Atkinson Avenue) was completed.
The front half of the Courthouse today is the same one completed in 1912. The back half of the current Courthouse was added in matching style in 2004. This enlarged building holds a total of nine courtrooms for District and Magistrate Courts, as well as various county offices—and some of the nicest public restrooms in Roswell.
The District Attorney’s Office occupies the basement, where some have claimed to hear the ghostly laughter of children playing.
Information scource: http://www.cleananpress.com/roswell/maincentral.htm
By Kole~Slaw
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