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.