Roosevelt County
Historical Museum
Roosevelt County
Historical Museum
At the Roosevelt County Historical Museum, we transport guests to the past through our exhibits. In the museum there are three (3) main galleries, one (1) rotating gallery, and sub-exhibits throughout the space.
Upon entering the museum, visitors are welcomed by an ENMU exhibit to start their journey into county history. The main galleries feature items from different time periods, immersing visitors in different historic eras.
The galleries are split into agriculture and industry, slice of life and Native American history, and military history. Agriculture invites the visitor to view Roosevelt County in its earliest days.
Industry expands on agriculture to show the growth of the county from ranching to large scale dairies. Slice of Life offers a view into the everyday life of a Roosevelt County citizen.
Native American history focuses on the tribal nations that have ancestral land in the county: Comanche, Kiowa, Lipan Apache, and Mescalero Apache. Military highlights the impact Roosevelt County made on wars since the Civil War.
Finally, the rotating gallery offers an exhibit that is switched out every six-months to a year, proving the opportunity to find something new with each visit to the museum.
Map to the Museum
Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Saturday: noon – 5 p.m.
Tour Options
We offer a small variety of tours through the RCHM. When requesting your tour, please notate which kind of tour you would like so we can plan for your visit.
- Self-guided tour: This is simply a tour of the museum at your own pace, staff interaction will be minimal but available for questions if necessary.
- Guided tour: A staff member will take you through the tour, highlighting important elements of exhibits and a personal touch to the county’s history.
- Period specific tour: Want to highlight a specific moment in history to align with your classroom teachings? Ask for this tour where a staff member will take students through specific exhibits and have items pulled from the archive to highlight a time-period.
Accommodations available:
We can print out assignments for students to use as they walk through the museum. Just ask for this when you schedule your tour. Clipboards and pencils will be provided as well.
The RCHM also offers digital versions of our upstairs gallery for guests upon request.
Contact us
Roosevelt County Museum
ENMU Station 22
1500 S Ave K
Portales, NM 88130
Office Location: Roosevelt County Museum (RCM), Room 1
Phone: 575.562.2592
Email: [email protected]
Hayley Goebel
Manager and Curator, Roosevelt County Historical Museum
ENMU Station 22
1500 S Ave K
Portales, NM 88130
575.562.2592
Permanent Displays
At the Roosevelt County Historical Museum, we hope to transport guests to the past through our various exhibits. In the museum there are three (3) main galleries and various smaller displays. The main galleries host items from different time periods, allowing visitors to be immersed in different historic eras. The oldest gallery displays items from the many Indigenous tribes that claim ancestry to Roosevelt County. Apache, Comanche, and Pueblo items tell stories about subsistence farming, hunting and gathering, and everyday life of the original peoples. The next gallery takes the visitor from European contact through the 1850’s. Frontier life dominates the exhibit space, showcasing how homesteading and early towns managed to thrive on the Llano Estacado. Finally, the last gallery takes guests to the 1950s and beyond. Early ENMU and industry take the visitor through a period of thriving growth for both the county and the country.
Online Exhibits
The RCHM’s online exhibits are currently being curated by the amazing staff at the museum. Plan to see amazing stories from ENMU, Roosevelt County, and the American Southwest!
Teaching Guides
The RCHM’s teaching guides offer a way for both students and teachers to connect with the museum and gain access to materials for their own projects and lesson plans. Teaching guides offer insight into specific events and periods of Roosevelt County history, but can tell a greater story of the US. Guides will have links to all online sources used and, upon request, can give access to PDFs and collection materials.
Coming soon: Buffalo Soldiers
How the RCHM can help
The RCHM wants to be a resource for the greater Roosevelt County community. Let us help with your History Day projects in any way we can. We can provide access to museum materials, offer insight on where to begin research, and answer questions about the program. If we cannot provide the best assistance, we will help you find the right person to ask.
External/ Internal Programming
Can’t make it out to the museum? Have the museum come to you! We will soon be offering pre-made and upon-request classroom programs that you can have us bring to your school or group. There will be a list of available pre-made programs, but if they do not align with your needs, ask us to prepare one for you! We will bring assignment papers with us as well as a PowerPoint to aid in our teaching. Please allow us plenty of time to prepare for classroom visits if you are asking for a unique program, we need time to plan and create materials.
