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."