The Streets of Carlsbad - Eddy Street

Charles B. Eddy in trimmed beard plaid
bowtie, top-buttoned coat. Eddy was the
original La Huerta ranch owner and
project promoter.

Of course, the most prominent name in early Eddy/Carlsbad was that of cattleman turned promoter, Charles B. Eddy.  None of the first streets were named for Mr. Eddy. However, the town took Eddy’s name, and in 1889 when two new counties were formed from the southern part of Lincoln County, one was named Chavez and the other, Eddy.

            Charles Bishop Eddy was born in 1857 in Milford, New York. In the early 1880s, he and his brother, John Arthur Eddy, came to Colorado to try cattle ranching. John was the day to day manager, and Charles, the promoter.  They soon moved south and purchased the Pecos Valley Ranch along the Pecos in the southeast part of the territory. 

            Charles and John, with the financing from a New York banker, began developing the Eddy-Bissell Ranch in 1881.  At first, cattle ranching seemed profitable.  The first few years there was enough grass and rain for the cattle in the valley.  However, rainfall in southeast New Mexico was never dependable. The drought of 1885 and 1886 was severe.  Eddy lost one third of his herd and he was lucky, many other ranchers were wiped out.

            Always a promoter, after the drought of 1885 and 1886, Eddy began an irrigation development.  In 1887, he and other investors formed a company and incorporated the town of Eddy from a portion the Eddy-Bissell Ranch.  Charles Eddy was responsible for planting the cottonwood trees that were one of the early attractions of the town.  Despite Eddy’s effort promoting the town, the company was in financial trouble until Robert W. Tansill introduced Mr. Eddy to James John Hagerman.  Mr. Hagerman became a major factor in development, bringing the railroad from Pecos to Roswell.

            Starting in 1893, there were economic difficulties, and in 1895 a serious flood destroyed a major portion of the canals, dams, and railroad.  New money was needed and the major investors disagreed over business matters.  Eventually, Mr. Eddy moved on to develop other projects in the El Paso area. He never returned to the area he had given his name.  Carlsbad has an Eddy Street, Eddy Elementary School, and is the county seat of Eddy County.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Tansill Street

Robert Weems Tansill

When the Pecos Land and Ditch Company formed in 1887, the first investors were cattlemen.  The drought of 1885 and 1886 was severe; there wasn’t enough grass for the cattle and the shrinking river was the only water. One rancher said so many cattle died you could walk on the backs of dead cattle from Seven Rivers to Pecos.  Charles B. Eddy, of the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company, lost one third of his herd.  Many of the other ranchers were completely wiped out. This drought convinced Mr. Eddy that to raise cows or anything else in the Pecos Valley serious changes would have to be made.

            Mr. Eddy envisioned an irrigation project fed by the Pecos River along a canal he named, "Halagueno".  Charles Eddy and his brother John formed a corporation and began looking for investors.  Soon after, Eddy met with Pat Garrett, who was operating a ranch south of Roswell.  Garrett was also trying to raise funds for a canal he called "The Great Northern Canal.”  Garrett’s project, if extended southward, would provide irrigation for up to 40,000 acres.  These two teamed up with Charles W. Greene and began their venture.  They hired engineers and had plans drawn up.

            In searching for capital, they made the acquaintance of Robert Weems Tansill.  Tansill had made a fortune manufacturing “Punch” cigars in Chicago, the first cigars to the use concept of branding.  His cigars were advertised on billboards and were the first to use cigar bands.  Due to health problems, he had come west on the advice of his doctor and settled in Colorado Springs. Tansill joined “the Company” and later moved to Carlsbad to better manage his investment. Along with his money and business sense, he also had connections. Tansill introduced “the Company” to James John Hagerman. Mr. Tansill loved the community and stayed here until his death in 1902.   Tansill Street, Tansill Dam, and Lower Tansill Dam are evidence of his significant influence in the development of our community.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Canal Street

View Southward from the Alonzo Luckey tower at
206. N. Canyon; Second section of Hagerman
Hotel completed, National Bank Building on Canal
Street completed. 

Did you ever wonder about the names of the streets in Carlsbad?  Here in the desert our busiest street is named Canal.  Most towns have streets named Main, Center, or Park, and tree streets, like Oak, or Elm.  Some were platted with named streets one direction and numbered cross streets.  How did Carlsbad’s streets get their names?  This column will reveal a little of the history of our town and how it grew to be the place we live today. 

            The town of Eddy was conceived by a group of promoters in 1887.  Charles B. Eddy, co-owner of the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company, envisioned an irrigation project fed by the Pecos River.  Another irrigation promoter was Pat Garrett, the lawman famous for killing Billy the Kid.  These men teamed up with Charles W. Greene, Robert W. Tansill, along with Arthur Mermod, Joseph Stevens, and Elmer Williams to found the Pecos Land and Ditch Company.

            In 1888, The Ditch Company hired B.A. Nymeyer to survey and plat the first eighteen blocks of the municipality.  Six streets ran east-west and four streets ran north-south. The six east-west streets were named after investors or their friends. The four north-south streets were Canal, Canyon, Main, and River Streets.  Mr. Greene supposedly insisted the town be named for Mr. Eddy.  On September 15, 1888 they christened the venture by breaking a bottle of Champagne on a rock at the Pecos River crossing.  Mr. Eddy began planting cottonwood poles and marking out streets. The first town building was The Land and Ditch Company building, a wooden structure on Greene.  A few lots were sold for $50 each and construction began.

            The purpose of the venture was to create an oasis so inviting that people from back east would purchase lots from the Land and Ditch Company.  Advertisements placed in eastern newspapers lured people to move to Eddy.  The ads described the lush greenery made possible by the canals and ditches that delivered water from the Pecos River to almost every property in town.  These successful ads brought people from as far away as Switzerland to settle in the town with the “Canal.”