Editing Hobbs, New Mexico (section)

==History==
Hobbs was founded in 1907 when James Isaac Hobbs established a [[Homestead principle|homestead]] and named the settlement.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hellmann |first=Paul T. |title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA741 |date=14 February 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1-135-94859-3 |page=741}}</ref> In 1910, the Hobbs post office opened, with James Hobbs as the first postmaster.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=NM&county=Lea | title=Lea County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=16 April 2015}}</ref> By 1911, about 25 landowners lived in Hobbs.<ref name=History>[{{cite news |last=Sholin |first=Terry M. |date=3 January 2001 |title=History of Hobbs |url=http://www.hobbsnm.us/hobbshistory.htm |newspaper=Hobbs New Sun |location=Hobbs |access-date=15 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814200441/http://hobbsnm.us/hobbshistory.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The small, isolated settlement expanded rapidly following the discovery of oil by the Midwest Oil Company in 1927. A [[refinery]] was built the following year, and in 1929, the town of Hobbs was officially incorporated.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Archuletta |first1=Phil T. |last2=Holden |first2=Sharyl |title=Traveling New Mexico: A Guide to the Historical and State Park Markers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VR4vU_bkWj8C&pg=PA152 |year=2004 |publisher=Sunstone Press |isbn=978-1-61139-117-6 |page=152}}</ref> At the peak of this oil boom, over 12,000 people lived in Hobbs. When the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] hit, oil prices dropped and the population fell to only about 3,000 in 1931. A few years later, though, activity picked up in the oilfields and the population climbed to about 14,000 in 1940.<ref name=History/>

On June 23, 1938, seven local men were killed and five more injured when an explosive charge used in oil drilling detonated prematurely.<ref>{{cite news |title=SEVEN KILLED, FIVE HURT IN NITRO BLAST IN NEW MEXICO |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/new-mexico/9306/hobbs-nm-nitroglycerin-explosion-jun-1938 |access-date=20 June 2020 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=The Helena Independent |date=23 June 1938}}</ref>

Following the outbreak of [[World War II]], [[Hobbs Army Airfield]] was built north of town in 1942. In 1948, the city bought the air base and converted it into the Hobbs Industrial Air Park, which is still used for [[gliding|soaring]] competitions.

The first college in Hobbs opened in 1956. It was initially the First Baptist College, and in 1962, it became the College of the Southwest. The name was changed again to [[University of the Southwest]] in 2008. A second college, [[New Mexico Junior College]], opened in 1966.

An ordinance was passed in Hobbs in November 2022 to prevent abortion clinics from operating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Brad |date=8 November 2022 |title=New Mexico city passes ordinance to block abortion clinics from operating |url= https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-mexico-city-passes-ordinance-to-block-abortion-clinics-from-operating/ar-AA13R1k6 |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> This ordinance was overwritten by a 2023 state law prohibiting local abortion bans.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Morgan|title=New Mexico gov. signs bill overriding local abortion bans|url=https://apnews.com/article/abortion-transgender-rights-new-mexico-b0f945afe9cc2d8e4f90bb956e62694a|website=AP News|date=2023-03-16|access-date=2023-03-23}}</ref>