The history of Carlsbad, New Mexico is rich and diverse. The community of Carlsbad was founded in 1888 as the Town of Eddy. This name was chosen to honor one of the founding pioneers of south east New Mexico, Charles B. Eddy. One of the most important factors in the early growth of Town of Eddy was the Avalon dam of the Pecos River north of Carlsbad. This also let to one of most important structures in the area, an Aqueduct that allowed the towns ranchers to irrigate most of the valley. This Flumme still stands to this day and is very important to the rich history of Carlsbad. It was during the commercial development of the local mineral springs, near the flume that the town later voted to change its name to Carlsbad. After the famous European spa Carlsbad, Bohemia, now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. In 1918 six years after New Mexico gained its state hood was Carlsbad was designated as a city. The monumental discoveries of the Carlsbad Caverns and the establishment of the National Park in 1930 led to worldwide appreciation of the Carlsbad community.