Guadalupe County: A History of Guadalupe County from 1891 to the Present

Gaudalupe County traces the history of Guadalupe County from its creation in 1891 by the Territorial Legislature of New Mexico to the present. During that period of time the county has had two county seats and has gone through two name changes. In 1903 the county was renamed Leonard Wood county, in honor of the Spanish American War hero and the county seat was movedd from Puerto de Luna to Santa Rosa. Two years later, in 1905, the Territorial Legislature was asked to change the name of the county back to Guadalupe. The county seat remained in Santa Rosa. Guadalupe County has had four different courthouse. The first one was in Puerto de Luna. The third courthouse was a fine stone masonry building built in 1909. On September 19, 2009, county officials joined with officials from the City of Santa Rosa in a ceremony commemorating the courthouse's centennial. The event marked the conclusion of restoration and renovation efforts to the old courthouse and grounds that had been undertaken by county and city officials. Among those in attendance at the event were U.S. Congressman Harry Teague and state and local officials. Author Daniel B. Flores made a presentation about the history of the county and its courthouses.