Santa Rosa is the county seat of Guadalupe County, New Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,744. It is a small town between Albuquerque and Tucamcari, situated on the Pecos River at the intersection of I-40 and Route 54. The town is in the llano estacado or "staked plains" of northern New Mexico.
The first European settlement in the area was Aqua Negra Chiquita, "Little Black Water" in Spanish, in 1865. The name was changed in 1890 to Santa Rosa, Spanish for "Holy Rose", referring to a chapel that Don Celso Baca, the founder of the town, built and named after either his mother Rosa or Saint Rose of Lima. The "Rosa" may also refer to the roses in the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and is indicative of the Catholicism of the Spanish colonizers who settled in the area.
Santa Rosa was connected by railroad to Chicago, El Paso and the world at large in the early 1900's.
Web Sites and Links
• ChefMoz: Santa Rosa
Detailed restaurant listings with reviews submitted by the public, and links to outside reviews. Search by name, cuisine, rating, or location.
• Days Inn MotelProvides information about rooms, amenities, area attractions with location map, contact info and online reservations.
• Santa Rosa Consolidated SchoolsInformation about schools and links.
