Key to the growth of the area was special excursion trains that brought visitors from the East at reduced fares. Before the Pecos Valley Railroad arrived in 1891,Myrick, David, ‘’New Mexico’s Railroads, A Historic Survey’’, University of New Mexico Press 1990. travel parties met at the railroad station in Toyah, Texas, and were driven by buggy over a rough, dusty road to this small but growing settlement on the banks of the Pecos River. Most of the early construction in Carlsbad was completed with locally manufactured bricks. The bricks were quite soft and of poor quality. The former First National Bank building at the corner of Canal and Fox streets is one of the few remaining buildings constructed with local brick. The re-discovery of Carlsbad Caverns (then known as "Bat Cave") by local cowboys in 1901 and the subsequent establishment of Carlsbad Caverns National Park on May 14, 1930, gained the town of Carlsbad substantial recognition.
