Dayton, New Mexico Eddy County

Dayton 1908-- Feb 18--D D Sullivan well known real estate man of Artesia was badly was shot and badly wounded today by a man named Whitting at Dayton, South of Artesia. The trouble culminating in the shooting arose over a land deal . Sullivan thrased Whitting in a fist fight upon which Sullivan procurred a shotgun and emptied two charges into Sullivan. Sullivan is still unconcious and will probably die. Whitting is under arrest. (This article is written exactly this way.)1908-02-19; Paper: Albuquerque Journal

Dayton 1909 -- The town has a prosperous bank, stores of all kinds and an excellent school building.
with a record of splendid crops in the surrounding country.
Large shipments of Alfalfa have been made this season the crop being a splendid one. Forty acres of Alfalfa in one instance produced a thousand dollars this year. The tomato canning factory has become one of the most impoortant industrusties of the Pecos Valley.Sewarage and water works systems are now being promoted and the growth of Dayton is steady and reliable on all sides.Some of the most active booster for the town are W B Culpepper, Fred A Berry, H A Vanepps, J T Gillett, and D. D. McBride, the latter the editor of the Dayton Echo, one of the most enterprising papers of the pecos country. 1909-11-18; Paper: Albuquerque Journal

Dayton 1910- Juan Baca of Dayton, N.M. goes violently insane and is being taken to the Asylum at Las Vegas. Believing that he is John the Baptist and he has a commission from heaven to preach the gospel of repentance Juan Baca of Dayton N.M., was taken from a Santa Fe train last night and lodged at Bernallio.

Dayton 1922-- Houses being moved from Lakewood and Dayton to Carlsbad.,. N. M, All vacant houses are rapidly being moved bodily from Dayton and Lakewood to Carlsbad where they are remodeled Into attractive modern homes. This is proving to be a very worthwhile conservation of materials and energy, and shown, Incidentally, that Carlsbad Is alive with a progressive Spirit. This will materially relieve the rent situation here, which has- been Quite acute, It been almost Impossible tor some time to find desirable homes for rent. Among those carrying on this work are .Major E. P. Bujac, Dr. Boatman, and Mr. Tom Runyan, the latter having moved the house he formerly lived in to a location near his beautiful home recently built here. 1922-01-21; Paper: Albuquerque Journal

The Lakewood Country
The most fertile section of the great Pecos valley lies around and to the south and north of the city of Lakewood, to the east of which is the great Lake McMillan, from which the town takes its name, and which makes one of the greatest beauty spots in the whole Southwest. It is in the valley of Seven Rivers, where were located the first irrigated farms on the slope. The land is a rich alluvial loam, of the most intense richness, and capable of the greatest results. The beautiful Hollywood ranch has for many years been a great producer of fruit, alfalfa and cantaloupes, and may produce every crop known to the temperate zone, in astonishing pro fusion. Upon this historic ranch has been built the city of Lakewood, now having splendid schools and churches and every possibility of the logical business center of one of the most marked irrigated communities in the world. With the development that has taken place, the land has risen steadily in price until it has gotten beyond the man of average means, and especially the wage earner who must work hard for all he gets, and can attain the home of the future only by small savings. It is impossible for such a person to buy more than a few acres, and not even that unless there is some provision made whereby the payment may be made under conditions that are suitable to him. It was to accomplish this result and make homes for a few hundred that this plan of sale was devised.
Lakewood, the Youngest Town in the Pecos Valley
From its organization its growth has been steady. The population is about 400. It is located on the Pecos Valley Railway, 19 miles north of Carlsbad, 1 1/2 miles west of Lake McMillan, which is fed by the Pecos river; the lake is three miles wide and nine miles long. Lakewood is within the shallow artesian belt, 58 miles south of Roswell. The land is so rich that the story of its products sounds like romance; but what is said herein are facts, which will be verified If the reader will come and see for himself. Artesian wells are to be had at a depth of 200 to 550 and up to 800 feet, which throw streams of six to ten inches in diameter, with pressure sufficient to run ten to twenty horse power machinery and capable of irrigating 100 to 640 acres.
Lakewood has two general stores, one of the best hotels in the Pecos valley, a telephone exchange, a drug store, blacksmith shop, a $15,000 school house, a barber shop, a lumber yard, livery stable, meat market, one newspaper, a restaurant, two church organizations and a national bank. This part of the Pecos valley has an ideal climate; the summers are long but pleasant, almost perpetual sunshine. You sleep under cover the year round. The altitude is 3,200 feet, free from malaria and mosquitoes, making this, for healthfulness, the equal of any part of the United States. People with weak lungs, asthma and bronchitis have found relief and a cure by residence here. The absence of blizzards and the mildness of the climate gives the Pecos valley the title "the land of sunshine." As a fruit country, especially for apples, peaches and pears, no better varieties can be grown in the world. The trees mature rapidly, frequently fruiting at two to three years. They are very hardy and elastic and do not break when heavily loaded with fruit; for color, flavor and firmness they are superior to those grown in other localities. Other fruits, plums, dates, cherries, and all kinds of berries, do extraordinarily well here. It is the equal of any country in the world for vegetables, and for growing celery it beats the world. The agricultural products are corn, oats, kaffir corn and milo maize. For growing alfalfa no part of the world equals the Pecos valley. It is a fact that fields growing here produce eight tons to the acre; it sells at $8 to $14 a ton. Hogs have been raised here to the weight of 1 pounds at a cost of 75 cents—fed on alfalfa. Hogs are absolutely free from cholera in this climate. It is a fact that peaches grown on the Sassin farm near Lakewood took the premium for quality and size over all the world's competitors at the Portland exposition. There are artesian wells in the town, which supply pure water, piped to the consumers, the natural pressure being sufficient to pipe it 180 feet high.
Beautiful Hollywood. Beautiful Hollywood ranch, consisting of some 5,600 acres, was selected by its owners nearly twenty-five years ago, at the time when they had the opportunity of selecting it at any point in the Pecos valley, and after months of investigation with their civil engineers and soil experts, they selected this ranch as the best in the entire irrigated Pecos valley. They put several hundred acres of this fertile ranch in cultivation,' and all these years it has been one of the greatest producers of any farm in the valley. The owners of this ranch owned large herds of cattle, but as all the free range for their cattle had been taken up by settlers, they were obliged to move their cattle, and decided to sell their land. Mr. Fairchild purchased 5,280 acres of this dutiful ranch, which he proposes to cut up to 5, 10. 20, 40 and 80-acre tracts, and sell them at $285.00 per tract in payments of $15.00 per month. These lands lie chiefly in three tracts: one north, one south and the other surrounding the town of Lakewood, and investigation will convince anyone that it is the finest body of agricultural land to be found in the Pecos valley. The editor of the Review has known Mr. Fairchild for many years and can endorse any statement he may make. We believe he has splendid proposition, one that will appeal those wanting a home in this beautiful section of the country, and those of our readers who are interested should write to him for a copy of the handsomely illustrated booklet he has published, and full particulars regarding his plan of sale. Address, O. M. Fairchild, Roswell, New Mexico, and for further reference write to the First National Bank of Roswell, New Mexico. (source The Western Investors Review )

The town of Lakewood was originally known as McMillan. It was just a siding placed at the time the railroad was built through in 1894. At that time or shortly afterward a store was established by T. J. Scott. The next building was a saloon put up by L. W. Holt and G. M. Hogg. This was followed by a drug store, the property of Dr. Shedloski. The post office was removed from Seven Rivers to McMillan. In 1905 a town site company was organized, purchased the land from J. M. Coburn and E. C. Cook, and the town was laid out, being called Lakewood. The discovery of artesian water here was the motive factor in laying out the town. D. H. Burditt came to the Territory in 1884, located at Seven Rivers and was connected with business firms in that historic old town for two years. He then turned his attention to the stock business in this valley, in which he continued until 1904, when he located in Lakewood and engaged in the real estate business. He bought out and has since conducted the Seven Rivers Real Estate Company. He is engaged in immigration work from the middle states and has been largely instrumental in securing many families to establish homes in this part of the Territory, his efforts being not only a source of income to himself but of direct and permanent benefit to this section. In addition to his realty operations he is also engaged in the stock business. M. W. Fanning, who came to the Territory from Texas in October, 1879, had served for four years as a Texas ranger in the employ of the Lone Star state. In 1880, with Peter Corn, he located a place in the Seven Rivers country and started to improve property there. They began business together and both have since figured in the material development and progress of this portion of the Territory. Mr. Fanning has six hundred and forty acres of good land near Lakewood, where he is engaged in the raising of cattle, sheep and horses. He is one of the oldest of the pioneer settlers of the Pecos valley and has remained in the Seven Rivers country since coming to the Territory more than a quarter of a century ago. He is now well known as an extensive stockman of large and profitable business interests. Peter Corn, of Lakewood, who came to the Territory in the fall of 1879, located a place two and a half miles southwest of the old town of Seven Rivers in the spring of 1880, at which time there were but four families living there, and this was the only settlement between Roswell and the Texas line on the west side of the Pecos river. In 1882 Mr. Corn engaged in the sheep business, in which he continued until the spring of 1888, when he removed to Hope. There he resided until 1896 and was connected with stock-raising interests until 1903, when he began farming here. He has five hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land and his labors are demonstrating the possibilities of the locality for successful farming operations. Mr. Corn is well known as a pioneer settler and one highly respected. (History of New Mexico)

HOME

All data on this website is © Copyright 2010 by JRice & Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.