Roswell is a city in Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, USA. The population was 45,293 at the 2000 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also the home of New Mexico Military Institute, founded in 1891. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located a few miles northeast of the city on the Pecos River. The Roswell UFO Festival is held each year to remember a UFO crash that reportedly occured in 1947.