Joseph C. Lea enrolled his son Wildy in Fort Worth University, a noted military school. Lea was so impressed with his son's education that he recruited the superintendent of the school, Colonel Robert S. Goss, to found a military institute in Roswell. The Goss Military Institute, which stood west of this site, opened in 1891 and operated until the end oldie academic year in 1894. The Institute featured a natatorium, drill ground, and modest orchard. Of the first thirty-eight cadets enrolled in the Institute, twenty were female and not subject to the same rigors of military discipline as the male cadets. Financial difficulties led to the Territorial government assuming authority for the Institute in 1893. The school's name was changed to New Mexico Military Institute, which was first located at 7th and Main Street during the academic year of 1894-1895. The Institute closed in the spring of 1895 and reopened in the fall of 1898 at its present location—the top of North Hill. Noted alumni of New Mexico. Military Institute include artist Peter Hurd, Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Horgan, hotelier Conrad Hilton, Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, and newsman Sam Donaldson.
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