The Streets of Carlsbad - Stevens Street

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders 1889

      One of the most interesting of the early investors in the Pecos Valley was Joseph Sampson Stevens. Stevens was born in 1866, the son of a prominent, high society, New York banking family. His father, Fredrick William Stevens, served on the board of directors of five of the nation’s leading banks. His mother was Adele Livingston Sampson, the daughter of the founder of the Chemical National Bank. Fredrick Stevens served on the board of directors of the Chemical National Bank for 57 years.

            After being diagnosed with tuberculosis, Joseph Stevens came west, to Colorado Springs, which at the time was a sort of playground for the wealthy. He had played polo at Harvard College and was considered to be the best polo player in the country. In Colorado Springs, as a member of the Broadmoor Country Club, he met and became good friends with Charles and John Eddy, who also had family connections with the Chemical National Bank in New York City. As early as 1887, the Eddy brothers had recruited Stevens to invest in their grand scheme to irrigate the desert of New Mexico. He traveled from Colorado to the Eddy’s Halagueno Ranch before his twenty-first birthday. After his visit, he was convinced that southeast New Mexico was a good place to invest his inheritance. He immediately recruited his father, Fredrick and his nephew, Francis Tracy to come west and invest in the irrigation venture. Steven’s father and Mr. Tracy returned to New York; however, Mr. Tracy was so impressed with his visit, that he sold his holdings on Long Island and returned to New Mexico. He remained in Carlsbad to manage Mr. Steven’s and his own investments.

            Joseph Sampson Stevens went on to join Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. In May of 1889, he traveled to Cuba and fought in the Spanish-American War. He returned from the war with what was, at the time, termed “Cuban Fever” (malaria). On his return, he spent time re-cooperating living with his mother (now the Duchesse de Dino) on the French Rivera.  In 1899, he married Clara Sherwood Rollins. In 1904, at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, he played polo with President Teddy Roosevelt at a Rough Rider Reunion. He served on the board of directors of the Chemical National Bank in New York City and built “Kirby Hill”, a manor estate still in existence in Newport, Rhode Island.  Joseph S. Stevens passed away March 23, 1935 at the age of 69, in Charlotte, South Carolina.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Greene Street

The view from the southwest corner of Greene and
Main Streets during the flood of 1893. Photo courtesy
of nearlovingsbend.net
 

     Yes, Greene Street ends with an "e." Greene Street was named for one of the original developers, Charles W. Greene. He was connected to the Santa Fe Railroad, but visiting Roswell, New Mexico, when he introduced himself to the famous lawman, Pat Garrett. Garrett introduced Mr. Greene and Mr. Eddy. Mr. Greene was an enthusiastic promoter a newspaperman originally from St. Louis, Missouri. His job in the development was to promote the idea back east and in Europe.
     His youngest daughter described the effort with these words: "To carry out his project, Mr. Greene chartered a private car from Chicago and a party was formed to carry out the ideas and make their dream come true of transforming a desert into a land of prosperity. Those making this first trip were: R.W. Tansill, Mrs. Ruth Hustis, Ed S. Motter, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gregory, Mrs Minnie H. Gibson, and the Messrs. Philpot, Hinkle, and O'Meara, all from Chicago. At St. Louis, Miss Mary Reed, daughter of Mr. Greene, joined the party and upon the invitation of Mr. Tansill, Lillian Greene went as mascot."
     When the town was christened in 1888, it was Mr. Greene's daughter, Lillian, who did the honors by breaking the bottle of champagne on a rock at the low water crossing. The first wooden bridge over the Pecos, on Greene Street, was completed in 1890. People came from all over the country to have a hand in the development of the new town.
     Mr. Greene's enthusiasm could not be contained, and he was not satisfied with slow and steady growth. He moved to Europe and settled in London, where he spent the next five years devoting his efforts to promoting Irrigation and Investment Company and the town of Eddy. He was responsible for bringing many colonies of foreigner to the Pecos Valley to settle and grow their crops.
     This was successful until 1893, when a national economic panic and a terrible flood of the Pecos caused a reversal of fortune. Many of the immigrants left the Pecos Valley, as did many investors. Mr. Eddy and his associates backed out of the venture. Mr. Greene was one of those left responsible and it was too much for him. He lost his entire fortune and died soon after in New York City. But he is still remembered in Carlsbad, with Greene street, ending with an "e."

The Streets of Carlsbad - Hagerman Street

James John Hagerman

Many of the streets in our town are name after people who came before us. They were developers, capitalists, and visionaries. They could see a land of opportunity in the desert, maybe none more so than James John Hagerman. Mr. Eddy traveled all the way to Colorado Springs to recruit Mr. Hagerman. Mr. Eddy picked up Mr. Hagerman at the Toyah train depot and drove him through the Pecos Valley showing him the prospects for agriculture by irrigation. After this hundred mile buggy ride, Hagerman took charge of the development. The original investors and Hagerman formed the new Irrigation and Investment Company. Hagerman raised capital, and invested heavily himself. By 1890, the Rock Dam was built north of the village at today’s Avalon site and water released into the main canal. A high, trestle-supported wooden flume was built to carry the main canal from La Huerta over the river for irrigation south of the town.

J.J. Hagerman invested heavily and became the force behind the development of southeastern New Mexico, bringing the railroad from Pecos to Roswell. There were serious problems between Mr. Hagerman and Eddy.  Both were strong personalities and they fought about business operations. There were economic problems throughout the nation in 1893, and in 1895 a flood washed out most of the irrigation canals and dams that had been completed.  A great deal more money would be needed to complete and rebuild the irrigation project.  Charles Bishop Eddy left Carlsbad in 1895 to go into developments in the El Paso area.  He never returned to the town or county to which he had given his name.

Mr. Hagerman continued to invest. Hagerman had seen the need for an easier way for people to get to the Pecos Valley and to get valley farmers’ crops to market. Hagerman formed a separate company to build the Pecos Valley Railroad from Pecos, Texas, and in 1891 the townspeople celebrated the arrival of the first train. Hagerman built a large home east of the river and town. He later invested more of his money to extend the railroad to Roswell and to Amarillo. Although the town of Hagerman was named for him, the Hagerman family never lived there.  In 1900, Mr. Hagerman sold his home in Colorado and moved to Roswell. He purchased the John Chisum South Springs property. In 1906, his son, Herbert, became the Territorial Governor of New Mexico. Hagerman died in Italy while touring Europe with his wife and was buried in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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.”

Surrender

I have not come to this conclusion lightly, but the war is over, and all is lost. The 1% - 4% won, and though we would not admit it to even ourselves, we always knew they would. I do not think this is a surprise. Think back to the late 60s and early 70s. Everything predicted by the counterculture gurus has come true. Not in the apocalyptic manner we were so innocently expecting, but insidiously, slowly, like the leak in the dyke, slowly eroding the foundation of whatever was true and light and good in the world. We closed our eyes and pretended it was all going to be fine.

And no, we didn't just get old - while we were raising our children, working, teaching, and trying to make a difference in our own small ways, SOMETHING went wrong, and we were so distracted by LIFE, that we barely noticed. We were given bread and circuses, lotteries, fancy electronics, concerts, sports, and amazing toys. The church casinos of Stranger in a Strange Land that seemed so impossible are commonplace. The Population Bomb actually exploded, seven billion people are crowding our planet. The hidden street cameras of 1984 take our pictures an average of 14x's every day. We allow ourselves to be poked and prodded by quasi-officials to fly through the air to destinations that are logged onto government computers. We meekly allow concert security teenagers search our purses, no grumbling, just find our seats and try to enjoy.

Those who are still able to THINK, can post, grumble and complain. We can write about it, we can rail and expound and protest, but ultimately - it will do no good. Freedom is an illusion. Free will is limited to those who volunterly stay within the fence. Freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and the rest of the guarantees of the Bill of Rights are illusions maintained by the Haliburton, GM, AIG, B of A, Wells Fargo, Proctor and Gamble, ABC/Disney/GE and all the rest of the 500 to maintain order and keep profits headed the right direction on the nightly graph. It doesn't matter which political party is in power, because they are just different images, no different than Punch and Judy. They have the same hands up their dresses or manipulating their strings. The political play is merely another distraction.

Our children are not and will never be upwardly mobile. Our grandchildren will not live better than their parents. Those of us with children and grandchildren, if we do not wish to be driven totally insane by this realization, must encourage them to learn to enjoy the small beauties left to us. Music, art, gardens, flowers, poetry, sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, mountains, lakes, streams, and good books - those are the pleasures left, as long as we don't make waves and stay inside the fence. Do not lightly dismiss my surrender, it matters.

A quote from the play JB, by Archibald Macleash:

"If God is god, he is not good.

If God is good, he is not god.

Take the even, take the odd.

I would not sleep here if I could,

Save for the green grass in the wood,

And the wind on the water."

How to Behave - Really?

Okay, I am about to get on my bandwagon. Most people know I'm a staunch Women's Libber. However, I'm taking a stand on this Herman Cain nonsense that might surprise you. I am not a Cain supporter. I agree with Rachel Maddow - that his candidacy cannot be serious, even on his part.
BUT --- what ever happened to just slapping the snot out of someone that makes an unwelcome pass at you? Even if it is your boss, and this doesn't look like he was supervising any of them. Why in the hell would you go to a lawyer because someone tried to stick his hand up your skirt? First of all, why did you put yourself in a position where that was an option? This smells of money. I'm sure these women are professional women - how else do you get that close to a big bucks CEO. Wouldn't you just label the man involved as a pig, and make sure you were not in his reach again?

I'm not defending Cain, I'm sure he is a pig, but the whole thing smells of Nixonish (GOP) dirty tricks. And if that is true, then the source of this mess needs to be identified. What I see in my head are back rooms with researchers sitting at laptops digging through every publicly filed action with the man's name on it. Which one of his opponents was using back room investigations? He is blaming it on the Democrats, and I am sure that is a possibility. But that doesnt make much sense, because I think the Dems would rather run against Cain over the rest of the very poor field of candidates.

The Joy of Being a Grandparent

I was a terrible mother. Really. The results speak for themselves. My oldest son passed away at 25. My youngest son had the hardest adolescence imaginable. He survived it, and is now a real grownup person, a little rough around the edges, but has an excellent handle on who he is and what he wants. He is intelligent, hardworking, and kind.  And I am very proud of the man he has become.


I stayed home with my two boys until they started K and 1st. I did everything thing that Dr. Spock and the other experts said I was suppose to do. They never missed a doctor checkup or a vacination. I made homemade babyfood; and they took their vitamins. I made Halloween costumes on my sewing maching.  My kids went to baby play dates, church, Sunday school, Tuesday school, Cub Scouts, swimming lessons, vacation bible school, community college classes, day camp, educational vacations, community theater, little league, and everything else I could find or imagine. We made homemade Christmas ornaments and gifts for the grandparents. I read to them every night - every night until they were passed old enough to read to themselves. They had at least heard most the classics before they started school. They always scored at the top 5% of all the national testing. They went to school in clean clothes, and with home cooked breakfasts in their tummies. Their homework was done and stacked by the door. No matter how long the battle the night before had lasted.

When I started teaching, I made sure I was home with them when they were sick.  I started working on my Master's and their grandmother took care of them. I took them to college with me sometimes and we went on great vacations. By the time they were in High school, they had been to the bullfights on Easter in Juarez, a Dallas Cowboys game, Ringling Brothers Circus, Sea World, and every historic site in NM and TX. They had been deep sea fishing, to football camp, to rodeos, the State Fair, and Disneyland.  They had attended the theatre in El Paso, Cats, Camelot, Fiddler, and all the community concerts and local community theatre plays in Carlsbad. They had been to museum exihibitions in serveral cities, the Ft. Worth Zoo, the Aquarium and Zoo in ABQ, the Natural History Museums, Art Museums, and just about anything else we could find.
What did I do wrong? Lots. I gave them too much, and did too much for them. I over parented. I agonized over all the details. I smothered. I wanted perfection. I didn't get it.

Now, grandkids are a whole different story. The pressure is off. I can entertain without guilt. I can buy what I want or not. I can feed her junk food. I can dress her for school in 2 different socks without having an anxiety attack. Lots of things that I thought really mattered with my kids, are not really all that important. Now, I can see that she will be what she will be, and both of her parents love her very much. She is happy sometimes and unhappy sometimes, but now I understand that life cannot be perfect. And she might not be perfect. But I can enjoy being with her. And pretty soon, we can do some of those things I did with my kids, but without all the stress. I can give her some of the same advantages, and not worry about the results. I look forward to it - a lot. And I look forward to the second grandkid too. He will be here around Dec. 30th and I intend to spoil the heck out of him too.

Lavern and Voncile

These two women planted seeds,
And watered their garden,
So we could blossom and grow.
They gave little girls an amazing gift,
A gift of time, and being so young
We didn’t know the cost.
We only knew that they were there,
With hugs, laughter, and words of wisdom
With Elmer’s glue and glitter.
They shared their life experience,
And love, and homemade cookies
They patched up our fights,
And dried our tears, with Kleenex,
Sympathy and good advice.
They were dependably there
Throughout our forming years,
For Box Suppers, Candy Sales,
Car washes, and Style shows;
For pecan pies and Campfire Camp.
And as we grew, they guided.
They were there to teach us
About Service, Kindness, Duty,
And the importance of Friendship
We learned Pride and Humility
And how to walk with heads held high.
They watch over our childhood and
Endured our adolescence, and
Then ushered us into adulthood.
They taught us to reach for stars,
But to be there when someone falls,
And to cheer for each other’s success.
They deserve a large part of the credit
For the women we have become,
Nurses, bankers, teachers, artists,
Writers, homemakers, and business leaders
And after all these years, still real friends.