The Roswell Historical Museum Ghost
Mike Smith
in Roswell Edition Column
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Just about any given museum that has a great deal of history in its past will occasionally have a ghost. Perhaps a night watchman hears footsteps in the night, doors suddenly slam shut, a mysterious figure is seen walking down the hall, or things inexplicably appear to have been rearranged the next morning.
Enter the Roswell Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico Museum on 200 N. Lea. The house, once owned by J.P. White and built by his father-in-law, D.Y. Tomlinson, back in 1912, is now the main headquarters of the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico. With an exquisite collection of antique furniture and displays, many of which were donated by other Chavez County residents, it truly creates the impression that one has stepped back in time once they enter the beautiful old home.
Like any museum, it also has its fair share of mysterious happenings.
Madonna Darland, who has volunteered at the museum since 1985, can remember many people that had worked in the museum in the past who told her stories of ghostly occurrences. Some were as simple as a funny feeling in a certain place, while other stories were more eyebrow raising. Such as displays on a museum table having been mysteriously rearranged the night before, or items that were put in the basement closet downstairs mysteriously appearing back upstairs later, leading some to speculate perhaps the ghost didn’t like how certain things were being arranged.
The history of the house begins with its owner, James Phelps White. White was born in Gonzalez, TX, in 1856 and came to the Pecos Valley driving a herd of cattle in 1881 with his uncle George Littlefield. Years later in 1899 he would meet his future wife, Lou Tomlinson, at the Roswell Post Office. The two were married four years later, and in 1912 moved into the elegant house constructed for them by Lou’s father, D.Y. Tomlinson, a local contractor some of whose work is still standing in Roswell today.
J.P. White, an avid businessman, purchased what was once called the Allison building in Roswell and added an additional three stories to it. The building still stands in Roswell today and is called the J.P. White building. White’s business interests, under the header J.P. White Industries, would continue to thrive even after his death in 1934. Mrs. White would continue to live in the home until her death at age 92 in 1972.
After Mrs. White’s death the White’s four children, who had grown up with happy memories in the home, pondered what to do with their parent’s house. They didn’t wish to see their childhood home sold for commercial use, so residents of Roswell and Chavez County generously raised money to pay for the upkeep of the house. Soon thereafter it was given to the Chavez County Historical Society and the rest is history.
The ghost, or perhaps ghosts, of the museum mentioned earlier are not the least bit harmful though, and instead seem to be more concerned with tweaking the displays here and there, or just ruffling around a few papers. For instance, on the rare occasion that a table top arrangement seems to have been mysteriously rearranged some joke that Mrs. White just didn’t like the way they were placed.
The ghosts may even have a sense of humor.
Among other happenings was a secretary that used to work in the museum back in the 1980s who would come to her desk in the morning to find that her papers had been moved around and the ribbon out of her typewriter. Although whether or not it was in fact the ghost, or whether the secretary was playing a good natured joke on her coworkers, is up for debate.
Sometimes file cabinets would be found mysteriously opened as well. “We always had to joke, ‘Mr. White just go to bed and leave us alone.’” says Madonna Darland.
Of course, Darland and others also figured the open file cabinets drawers were in all likelihood due to vibrations caused by large trucks passing by on the street, causing the file cabinets to slide open.
When asked about the ghosts one last time Darland says, “I just think it’s a beautiful old home. And if there are ghosts…they probably think it’s their home.”
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The Roswell Historical Society Museum is open everyday from 1:00PM to 4:00 PM and is located on 200 N. Lea. Go visit it and see if you get a spooky feeling, or just enjoy the tour.
And, of course, if your tour guide scoffs at the notion of the museum ghost, just remind them it was this column that got you there in the first place…
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