There were few Anglos in what would become Eddy County prior to the Civil War. A few traders and outlaws from Texas were scattered around the territory. Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving moved their first herds of cattle up the Pecos Valley in 1866. Seeing few Indians, good grass and abundant water, cattlemen began moving their stock into the area to winter closer to their markets. Mail for these settlers was either brought over the trail from Texas by cowboys or picked up at Fort Sumner. A post office was established at Roswell in 1873 and brought the mail a lot closer. The first post office was established at Seven Rivers on June 19, 1877. A Star Route was established out of the Roswell Post Office to carry the first official U.S. mail into what would be Eddy County. This mail was likely first carried on horseback and later in buggies as the volume increased.
A route was then established out of the Seven Rivers Post Office to carry mail to the Lower Penasco Post Office. The Hope Post Office was opened in 1890 and was added to this route. The Pecos Valley Branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad reached the New Mexico border on January 1, 1891. By January 13, the tracks had reached Carlsbad and was completed to Roswell on October 6, 1894. Railway Post Office (RPO) service was started on the line with the completion of this segment.
The Stegman (Artesia) Post Office was established in 1899 on the Pecos Valley Railroad. The mail for the post offices west to Tularosa was then routed to Stegman and carried on a new star route. A need for mail transportation to what is now Lea County was created when the Monument Post Office was opened in 1900. The mail was routed to Carlsbad on the train and a star route was established to carry the mail east.
Another route was established out of the Carlsbad Post Office in 1905. This route provided mail twice a week to the western part of the county when the Queen Post Office was opened. Around 1915 a special supply route was established out of the Carlsbad office to provide mail to the Frijole, Texas, Post Office south of Queens. This was soon incorporated into the Queens route. The route went to Queens one day and to Frijole on the next providing mail three days a week to each office.
By the mid 1930s, RPO service had been terminated between Carlsbad and Pecos, Texas. A star route was established to replace the rail service. Another route was established from Roswell to Carlsbad, with stops at each office in between, to supplement the rail service. With additional post offices being established. A need was created for more routes to the eastern part of the county and into Lea County. A route was added from Artesia to provide mail to the new Smith (Loco Hills) Post Office. In the early 1940s, Air Mail Route 29 was established. This route provided Air Mail between El Paso and Denver with New' Mexico stops at Carlsbad, Hobbs, Roswell, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Vegas.
With an increase in mail, and with new post offices being opened, there was a need for additional or extended star routes in the early 1940s. Carlsbad began providing mail to the new Whites City Post Office and added a route to Hobbs. The Artesia to Loco Hills route was extended east to Lovington. The RPO service was discontinued between Clovis and Carlsbad on September 25, 1954. The rail service had been declining for many years. The Post Office Department had anticipated this loss. The star routes that had been established to supplement the RPOs were able to continue mail delivery without any loss in service.
The introduction of ZIP Codes in 1963 and the creation of a Sectional Center Facility (SCF) at the Roswell Post Office went virtually unnoticed in Eddy County. Mail was already being routed through Roswell or was coming direct from other parts of the country. Other than some changes in frequency and arrival times, the routes have not changed much over the years.

Postmasters

STEGMAN / ARTESIA

EDDY / CARLSBAD

CASS
Charles H. Slaughter February 15, 1888

DAYTON

EL PASO GAP

HOPE

VAUtd / FLORENCE / LOVING

McMILIAN / LAKEWOOD

SMITH / LOCO HILLS

 LOOKOUT / MALAGA

ORIENTAL
Albert C. Jacobs July 29, 1910 
Frederick E. Hubert November 1, 1913

OTIS
Catherine M. Demorest October 13, 1893 
Cornelius J. Demorest May 5, 1897

QUEEN
James W. Tulk November 20, 1905 
Minnie N. Middleton July 3, 1912
Pearl Middleton April 7, 1917 
Fred A. Weir April 21, 1920

RANCH
C. S. Tibbetts February 4, 1879

SEVEN RIVERS

WESTWATER
James C. Lorton April 1, 1902
Lee Middleton September 16, 1902

WHITES CITY
Charlie Lee September 10, 1942
White Ruth White January 4, 1956
Billie Ree Freiberger (act) December 30, 1965 
Bobbie R. Partin (acting) January 14, 1966
Edna A. Taylor June 26, 1967
Jo Ann Tapp October 31, 1978

©2005