Carlsbad

Carlsbad, on U.S. Highway 87 in the North Concho valley fifteen miles northwest of San Angelo in northwestern Tom Green County, began in 1907, when T. J. Clegg, Ed Perry, and others organized the Concho Land Company and purchased the 60,000-acre Hughes Ranch. They divided the land into lots, laid out a townsite, built a hotel, named the town Hughes, and advertised free land to anyone who purchased a farm tract. The surrounding area was settled by farmers from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. Within two years the land company had attracted a population of 600. Growth was stimulated after the drilling of a deep well revealed medicinal properties in the local water; a bathhouse and efforts to advertise the town as a health resort resulted. The community was required to choose a new name for a post office in 1908. Residents selected Karlsbad, after a spa in Bohemia. The Hughes Headlight , first published in 1908, was renamed the Carlsbad Headlight