Eddy County, New Mexico
| Eddy County, New Mexico | |
|---|---|
Eddy County Courthouse in Carlsbad
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 Location in the U.S. state of New Mexico |
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 New Mexico's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | May 16, 1891 |
| Seat | Carlsbad |
| Largest city | Carlsbad |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,198 sq mi (10,873 km2) |
| • Land | 4,176 sq mi (10,816 km2) |
| • Water | 22 sq mi (57 km2), 0.5% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 53,829 |
| • Density | 13/sq mi (5/km²) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Website | www |
Eddy County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,829. Its county seat and largest city is Carlsbad. The county was created in 1891 and later organized in 1892. It is north of the Texas state line.
Eddy County comprises the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located in this county. Eddy County is the location of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
In 1866, Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving drove vast herds of cattle along the Pecos and set up "cow camps" in Seven Rivers and what is now Carlsbad. John Chisum soon joined them and brought an estimated 100,000 head of cattle of his own through the Pecos Valley.
In 1881, Charles B. Eddy came to the area, and with his brother, John, and partner Amos Bissell, developed the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company. In 1884, the Eddy brothers and Bissell broke ground on the Halagueno Ranch which encompassed an area from Seven Rivers to La Huerta (a suburb of Carlsbad). In 1887, Eddy built the Halagueno diversion ditch on the Pecos, three miles above the site of the Avalon Dam (which was completed in 1890) and incorporated the venture, calling it the Pecos Valley Land and Ditch Company. Eddy was looking to entice Europeans to settle the area, and with the new Halagueno Ranch and the Pecos Valley Land and Ditch Company established, he sought funds from a Swiss bank to help attract them to the clean air and sunny climate.
In 1888, Patrick Garrett (known as the sheriff who had shot Billy the Kid) along with promoter Charles Greene, joined forces with Eddy to design and build a system of canals and flumes to divert water to their ranches and properties. Greene was able to procure investors from the east, one of which was Robert W. Tansill (manufacturer of the "Punch 5 ¢ Cigar"). These men, along with another big investor, J.J. Hagerman, laid the plans for a new town on the west bank of the Pecos River. The men had the town incorporated as Eddy on September 15, 1888.
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