Town of Dexter— The section was little more than barren range before the discovery of Artesian water in the late 1890’s. Around 1893 a stage stop for the Carlsbad to Roswell stage was located in an area homesteaders farm. The stage drive would normally allow the passengers to stretch and observe the sunset while the teams were changed.

In 1902, the townsite was surveyed and articles of incorporation for the Dexter Townsite Company were filed in Santa Fe.  On January 9, 1903, Theodore Burr, A.E. Macy and Milton Elford were listed as members of the company.  Macy, the only married man in the group, was given the privilege of naming the town. He called it Dexter after his hometown in Iowa.  The incorporation became official and the first elections were held in 1910. Mr. Jerry Cazier was elected the first Mayor.

Mr. Hagerman and Mr. Eddy bought water rights from the Jingle Bob Ranch and then built the Hagerman Canal. The purpose of the canal was to provide irrigation water to their farms. Later the two men built a railroad to Carlsbad in order to haul sugar beets to a mill located there.

Lake Van, at the time, was called Horseshoe Lake and was little more than a dry basin in dry weather. In wetter seasons and later in time, the lake was spring fed and became a recreational center for the community.

Today Dexter’s population is estimated to be 1,235.

 

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