Alamogordo had its official beginning in June, 1898, when the El Paso and Northwestern Railroad, owned by Charles B. Eddy, reached the town. Mr. Eddy was very influential in the founding of Alamogordo. He planned a community with large wide thoroughfares and irrigation ditches lined with trees. The name of this community was derived from those trees. They were large cottonwoods and "Alamo Gordo" in Spanish translates to "fat cottonwood."
A large park, called Alameda, was to be located along the railroad tracks in the center of town. That park today houses New Mexico’s oldest zoo as well as a toy train depot. Almost a century old, the depot houses hundreds of model and toy trains. There is also a toy train ride of 2.2 miles around the park.
Historian Dr. David Townsend highlights an interesting feature of Eddy’s town. He was a prohibitionist and wanted no liquor in his model community. It seems his attorney, William A. Hawkins, advised him that totally prohibiting liquor was doomed to failure. Mr. Hawkins wrote an ordinance known as Block 50 Ordinance, the only block where liquor could be made and/or sold. Since Mr. Eddy sold all the lots, each deed had a provision that prohibited liquor on any lot. If there was, the lot reverted to Mr. Eddy. Needless to say, homeowners were wary about tippling in their homes. The ordinance stayed on the books until 1984.
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