Historical Marker
Artesia
Artesia, Eddy County · New Mexico
Artesia is the town's third name. The railroad siding of 1894 was Miller, for a brakeman or an engineer depending on the source; when a post office came it became Stegman in 1899, after its first postmistress, Sallie Chisum, then married to Baldwin Stegman. In 1903 the new townsite and improvement companies renamed it for the water that gushed from its wells, and sold the name hard. Twenty years of unchecked flow did the rest: by the early 1920s the wells were dwindling.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker Artesia Population 10,385 - Elevation 3,350 Artesia, named for the area's many artesian wells, lies on the route of the Pecos Valley cattle trails used by Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving, and John S. Chisum. The town, established in 1903, is located in what was once part of Chisum's vast cattle empire.
Where it stands
32.89326, -104.41660 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Sallie Chisum Robert — 5.5 mi
- Castaño de Sosa's Route — 5.9 mi
- Civilian Conservation Corps — 6.4 mi
- Artesia — 12 mi