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 city) built and named after both his mother Rosa and 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 1900s.
Santa Rosa has many natural lakes, an anomaly in the dry Desert climate surrounding it. These are sinkholes that form in the limestone bedrock of the area and fill with water, and thus the lakes are connected by a network of underground, water-filled tunnels. The most famous of these is Blue Hole, a popular spot for diving, where frigid 61°F (16°C) water forms a lake over 81 ft (25 m) deep.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²), of which, 4.2 square miles (11.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.70%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,744 people, 898 households, and 616 families residing in the city. The population density was 645.7 people per square mile (249.3/km²). There were 1,024 housing units at an average density of 241.0/sq mi (93.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 57.47% White, 2.19% African American, 1.75% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 33.13% from other races, and 4.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 81.16% of the population.
There were 898 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 135.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 145.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,085, and the median income for a family was $28,782. Males had a median income of $20,161 versus $16,417 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,168. About 18.9% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.
