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.