Eddy

Formed May 16, 1891 (17^th county)

Eddy County (62,314), Carlsbad (32,229)

The Spanish Pueblo stucco facility is on Canal Street at Stevens Street.  Canal Street is United States Highway 285 through the city.  Although this courthouse was built in 1892, a significant remodeling in 1939 gave it the current look.  Witt Brothers are the building architects.  The building was renovated again in 2002 and an Administrative Building was built.  The county was created on May 16, 1891 as the 17^th county with Carlsbad as the only county seat.  Charles B. Eddy, a local water use entrepaneur, provided his name to the county.  Carlsbad is a derivative of the German phase “Carl’s Bath.” 

Eddy County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, a treasurer, an attorney, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nine District Court Judges serve Eddy, Chaves, and Lea counties (judicial.)  The county is in the southeast part of the state sharing a southern border with Texas.  El Paso, Texas is southwest of the county.  The Pecos River runs north to south through the middle of the county.  The county center is 17.3 miles West of Carlsbad.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Chaves and Lea counties and Texas and Otero County. 

The area of the county is 4182 square miles.  It is 12 out of 33 in the state.  It ranks 11 out of 33 in population in the state.  It has a density of 14.9 persons per square mile making it 11 out of 33 in the state.  Eddy County has 74.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 62 enters from the east, Lea County, and goes southwest into Texas.  United States Highway 82 crosses the northern part of the county from east to west, Lea County to Chaves County.  United States Highway 180 is joined with United States Highway 62 from Lea County to Texas.  United States Highway 285 goes north to south from Chaves County to Texas.  The county is a rectangle with an added extension on the east border from the middle to the southeast corner.  Carlsbad is near the geographical center of the county.  Carlsbad is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 51.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced ED-DEE.  This county is in the Carlsbad-Artesia Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Loving