Chaves County, New Mexico

Chaves County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 65,645. Its county seat is Roswell. Chaves County was named for Colonel Jose Francisco Chaves, a military leader here during the U.S. Civil War and later in Navajo campaigns. Created by Territorial Legislature, February 25, 1889, out of land from the county of Lincoln.