Located about 26 miles west southwest of Lovington in Highway 82, this town was founded in 1926 by William Mitchell. Mitchell owned the oil company that brought in the first oil well in the vicinity on July 26, 1926. He named his company the Maljamar Oil & Gas Company and eventually, the community of Maljamar. The word Maljamar is comprised of the first letters of the names of his children, Malcolm, Janet and Margaret. The June 12, 1926 issue of the Roswell Daily Record was not the first published record found for the Maljamar Oil and Gas Company but it listed eight wells that were being drilled.

Not usually mentioned is that the initial name of the community appears to have been Mitchell rather than Maljamar, per the newspaper clipping below.

Maljamar Oil and Gas Company was not just a New Mexico company, evidently, but so far we have not been able to find out much more about it other than it operated here before and after the founding of the community of Maljamar and it apparently build Artesia’s second refinery in 1931 which was called the Malco Refinery. We will keep looking for information about the company and William Mitchell and family.