Aliens and Economic Growth

The truth is right here, not out there

Most think of one thing when Roswell, New Mexico is mentioned: aliens. So intense is the lore surrounding what is known as the 1947 Roswell Incident that much of the other highlights and history of city are completely overlooked.

In 1891, the New Mexico Military Institute opened. The school includes high school as well as a junior college. Many notable men have graduated from the institute including Sam Donaldson and Conrad Hilton. Many graduates have gone on to West Point .

The early history of the city included thefts and murders by Apache Indians, and retribution for the same. One Roswell cattleman, John Chisum, was tired of having his horses stolen and his cattle hands murdered. He organized some citizens and staged the raid of an Apache camp where many stolen horses were recovered. This act helped to end the seemingly endless attacks by the Apaches .

The Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, was stationed there and the city seemed to instantly decrease in size when half of the population departed after Walker Air Force base was closed in the 1970's .

For all of its history and struggles, however, the 1947 event is what truly put Roswell on the map. In 1947, there had been a number of UFO sightings all over the country. Then, in July, something came crashing to the ground in Roswell.

A press release dated July 8, 1947 stated that debris from a disk had been recovered, but hours after it was released, that press release was replaced by one that said the debris that had been found was from a weather balloon.

In the 50 plus years since the incident, many of the original eyewitnesses have come forward to try and shed light on what really happened that day. One such witness was Jesse Marcel, who was a major in the Air Force at the time of the incident. In sharp contrast to the official story, Marcel said that the debris he recovered could not have been from a weather balloon or from any type of aircraft. He also said that there were strange characters etched into some of the metal debris that he found .

While no one has been able to prove beyond a doubt that aliens crashed in Roswell that day, many believe that no one has been able to disprove it either. The popularity of the mystery surrounding the Roswell Incident has turned into a multi-million dollar tourism industry for Roswell.

Roswell has many museums, most of which offer free admission, and an increasing retail presence in the downtown area of the city help to round out the city and assist in its continuing economic growth .