Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-12-19
EDDY AND CHAVES COUNTIES

named counties as separate sections.
Their history and affairs are closely inter
woven, their interests identical and their
past, up to very recent date, forms one
harmonious whole. By an act of the leg
islature, passed in 1889, these two counties,
with Eddy as the county seat of the for
mer, and Roswell as the county seat of
the latter, were cut out of the eastern por.
ton of Lincoln county. The two together
form the celebrated Pecos valley, II fertile
basin of enormous extent, and the site of
the largest irrigation enterprise in the
world, detailed account of which will be
found elsewhere in this edition of the New
MEXICAN.
Chaves county extends from the eastern
boundary of the territory of New Mexico
los miles west. and with length of So
! miles from north to south covers all area
OF 1883 square miles.
Eddy county occupies the extreme
southeastern corner of the territory, ex.
tends los miles from east TO west and
covers an area OF ,l2S square miles.
The eastern half of the former and
about twofifths of the eastern portion of
the latter are occupied by the Staked
Plains, formerly the favorite hunting
ground of the Apache, but since 1870 u
veritable paradise for cattlemen and hun
ters. The physical characteristics are al
most identical, their development has
been about the same, the same great sys-
tenn Of irrigation is supplying both sec
tons with water, so what may be said OF
one applies equally as we'll to the other.
The land is exceptionally fertile and the
climate unsurpassed in any country OH
earth. Wool, fruit, alfalfa and vegetables
are the staple products. The climatic
conditions are especially favorable to fruit
raising. All fruits grown in California,
excepting the lemon and organge, can be
grown here successfully. The valley is
the natural home of the grape and no
better peaches can be found anywhere
than those coming from the orchards of
the Pecos valley. Peaches, prunes, april
cots, apples, Strawberries, walnuts, al
monds, cherries, figs, all kinds Of grain and
grass, maize, wheat, barley, oats, rye, al
falfa, clover, timothy, cotton. jute, ramie,
sorghum cane, native and sweet potatoes,
peanuts-all these flourish when properly
cultivated. The raising of sugar beets
promises to develop into one of the lead.
ing industries of the valley, for which
- factory opened at Eddy recently, with
. adaily capacity of 225 tons, employing
II 100 men. The farmers this season
81 planted $500 acres of this product and
Fl next year the crop will be more than
Fl doubled. Wool growing tlourishes and
:. the shipments last year amounted to
q over 100000 pounds.
q The stockmen also do well, and
II
J. valley which affords grazing land for
q large herds.
Il As to climate there is no more heal
Il thy place in the world than the Pecos
. valley. The altitude ranges from 5000
81 to $500 feet, and the thermometer
Il rarely falls below Is above zero in win
II ter, and though sometimes rising to 100
. degrees in summer it is dry heat and
Il not at all oppressive. A case Of sun
q stroke has never been known in the
Il valley.
Il Roswell was settled in 1875 and two
II years ago was given railroad connec-
81 ton with Eddy by an extension of the
Il Pecos Valley railroad which is to be
Fl soon farther extended to connect with
Fl the Panhandle in Texas.
81 Some of the finest farms in the val
ley are situated near Roswell, and
Ell there are also many orchards which
Ri are paying handsomely. This town is
81 the natural trade center of Chaves
I'll county, and the largest wool depot in
this part of the territory. 1t enjoys
good schools, hotels, new court house
and the general conveniences of wide
awake western city.
| The town of Eddy was first laid out the
spring of 1889, when Mr.. and Mrs. R. w.
Tansill, of Chicago, and G. B. Eddy drove
over from Halaguano randi h, and after
some discussion concerning a name de-
cided upon Eddy. Mr.. Eddy was strongly
set to have the town called Halaguano
after his ranch, now in La Huerta, but
Mrs. Tansill won in the discussion on the
theory that the present name was more
easily pronounced. and would not inspire
people of the east with the idea that this
was Spanish settlement.
Active work on the railway between
Pecos and Eddy was commenced in June,
1889, and finished the last days of De-
cember of that year, during which time
the material not manufactured in Eddy
had been hauled from Pecos, and the inc
hotel, now known as the Windsor, but
for seven years the Hagerman, was built
at cost of $4,000.
The fall of 1889 the first newspaper was
issued from Eddy, under the editorship
of Richard Rule, the material having been
brought in by wagon by the Pecos City
Town Company.
In 1889 the Pecos Immigration and r.
rigation Company, under the general
management of G. B. Eddy, fou-ished
and the great work of completing the
dam. six miles north of town, and the big
canal was pushed through, the lumber
for the big aume being hauled by wagon
from Pecos.
1t was in the fall of 1890 that the first
county officials were elected, the legisla-
ture Of 1889 80 having passed law form
ing Eddy and Chaves counties from a
portion of Lincoln county. The first
board Of commissioners, G. H. McLena-
N .Los