Historical Marker
Carlsbad Irrigation Flume
Carlsbad, Eddy County · New Mexico
The flume began as a ranchers' scheme. In 1887 Charles B. Eddy and Pat Garrett, the sheriff who killed Billy the Kid, formed an irrigation company to water the lower Pecos and sell land to settlers. They needed money and found it in James J. Hagerman, rich from Colorado's Mollie Gibson silver mine, who reorganized the company in 1890, built a railroad and promoted a town named Eddy. Floods kept breaking the works, Avalon Dam twice, and the nearly bankrupt company passed to the federal Reclamation Service.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker Carlsbad Irrigation Flume The massive concrete flume in the distance carries water from the Pecos River to irrigate much of the farmland in this area. It is a vital link in an extensive irrigation system which made possible development of the region's agricultural resources. A wooden flume constructed in 1890 washed away in 1902 and was replaced by the more substantial concrete structure in 1903.
Where it stands
32.44393, -104.26130 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park — 0.5 miA zoo and garden of the Chihuahuan Desert on the Ocotillo Hills above Carlsbad, whose animals are injured or orphaned wildlife that cannot go back to the wild.
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park — 21 miThe way into the cave has changed four times: a guano miner's bucket, a wooden staircase, a 750-foot elevator, and now a timed ticket and a switchback trail down the natural entrance.