Hobbs, New Mexico

Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 34,122 at the 2010 Census, increasing from 28,657 at the 2000 census.

Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lea County.

History

Hobbs was founded in 1907 when the James Hobbs family established a homestead and named the settlement. In 1910 the Hobbs post office opened, with James Hobbs as the first postmaster. By 1911 there were about 25 landowners in Hobbs.

The small, isolated settlement expanded rapidly following the discovery of oil by the Midwest Oil Company in 1927. A refinery was built in the following year and in 1929 the town of Hobbs was officially incorporated. At the peak of this oil boom, over 12,000 people lived in Hobbs. When the Great Depression hit in 1931, oil prices dropped and the population fell to only about 3,000. However, a few years later activity picked up in the oilfields and the population climbed to about 14,000 in 1940.