As a place name, Tularosa is specific to southern New Mexico, where a river, a valley, a town, and a long-gone U.S. Army fort all share it. It was coined by Spanish-speaking settlers in the 1860s, supposedly inspired by the reddish tule, or bulrushes, that grew along said river. So what’s the connection between Tularosa and Silver Lake? Probably none. But by 1903, when Tularosa Drive was named between Bellevue and Marathon, Tularosa, NM had popped up in the news often enough to be familiar to whoever named the street. In the end, “Tularosa” just sounds pretty, and that’s often enough to explain a street’s etymology.
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