OIL, WATER, RAILROADS,
SHAPED CISCO'S DESTINY

Ranching, agriculture, oil, transportation, water and industry all have played an important part in the development of Cisco from its beginning as a small community known as Red Gap, located on land that was then known as the Bint Sheep Ranch.

It was in the late 1870's that a group of settlers decided they had gone far enough west and decided to stop where they were. Where they were was near the present site of Cisco. The new community was located near what is now the western city limits of Cisco near Oakwood Cemetery. It was just prior to the time the Texas and Pacific Railway Company completed pushing its gleaming rails westward from Fort Worth to El Paso.

In a short time Red Gap was a "rough and ready town" boasting 350 inhabitants and six saloons. It became the gathering place for cattlemen and cowboys for miles around, who came to wet their whistles and let off steam. In 1881, the country was all open range and cattle and sheep roamed the streets and grazed upon the site of the present business district. Gambling was not frowned upon and many fights and killings kept Red Gap a lively place. There were some 1,500 people, mostly ranchers and their crews, living in Eastland County.

Shortly after the community was established, the Rev. C. D. Stephens established its first church, the forerunner of the present First Baptist Church. He also served as the town's first postmaster.

Late in 1880 the T & P completed its railroad from Fort Worth to Cisco, and some six months later the Texas Central (now the Missouri, Kansas and Texas) pushed its track from Waco to Cisco and crossed the newly completed T & P about a mile east of Red Gap. In 1881, the town of Red Gap moved its post office from its original site to the junction of the T & P and the Texas Central, and W. T. Caldwell became postmaster, and Cisco became a reality.

The Texas Central gave the town its first industrial boost when in 1884 the company purchased a section of land near where Cisco Junior College is now located, and opened up a coal mine. The primary purpose of the mining venture was to supply their own engine fireboxes with fuel and to sell the remainder. Little was done to develop the coal mining prospects in the area after its flurry.

In 1881, R. G. Luse came from the north and started the town's first newspaper. It was called the Cisco Round-Up.

On May 21, 1881 the town of Red Gap became known as Cisco.  Mayor W. J. Abrams, land and tax commissioner of the T & P was instrumental in changing the name of the town to Cisco in honor of John J. Cisco, prominent New York banker, who financed the budding of the Texas Central.

By 1887 Cisco boasted a school, two churches, a bank, a number of stores and more saloons. Stage coaches had ceased to run except to the south, and bad men of the territory began robbing trains and banks. In February 1887, a snowy and bleak day, four men rode down Cisco's only street and pulled up their mounts at the hitching rail in front of the Cisco bank. While two of the men stayed with the horses, the other two entered the bank with drawn six-shooters. They forced the cashier to hold his hands high while they scooped up all the available cash. Before the town was aware what had happened, the quartet of highwaymen was riding hell-for-leather to the west.

Jim Thomas, City Marshal, hastily organized a posse, and within an hour every able bodied man in the community was hot in pursuit of the bandits. They rode all night and in the early morning hours came upon the dying camp fire the bandits had used in warming themselves and dividing loot. The camp was located 12 miles west of Cisco, near where Putnam now stands. From that point the posse struck a cold trail and nothing was ever seen of the bandits or the $10,000 they took from the bank.

The first school in the community was established in 1881, and soon 100 students were enrolled in the hastily constructed frame building. Dr. S. H. Scout became head of the Cisco free school and by 1886 the student population has increased to 278. The fine public school building erected at that time was the pride of the community area.

Because of its transportation facilities, Cisco soon became the industrial center of the area. Early in its history it was the focal point for the bone gathering industry. Bone hunters scoured the area for miles around for the bones of buffalo and longhorn cattle, and in 1883 several trainloads of bones left the Cisco railroad for eastern markets. Because of its strategic location, Cisco soon became the Mecca for farmers and ranchers in the area, and in 1882 it was estimated that Cisco merchants sold the tremendous amount of $600,000 in goods of various types. It was also recorded that the shipments of cattle, wool, hides, sheep, cotton, and other items were "very considerable."

By 1883 the population of Cisco had grown from its original small colony of settlers to some 1,500 people. At that time limestone was being quarried in abundance near the town, and two stock yards and a flour mill had been added. During 1886 the flour mill manufactured and sold $75,000 worth of "excellent flour."

Within 25 years after its beginning, Cisco had grown to a bustling community of 2,700. As the town grew so did its business and industry. Records of the town's growth show that shortly after the cotton oil mill, two grist mills, an ice plant, electric lights, a steam laundry, a bottling works, a good fire department, and a telephone exchange were all begun.

In about 1895 Frank Vernon, publisher of the Cisco newspaper, decided the community needed a library, and began the new venture with a few of his own books. The townspeople rallied to the cause and in 1898 the library, the only one in Eastland County, contained more than 700 volumes. Vernon served as librarian and editor of the paper for a number of years. A few years later, Vernon turned over the library to the Twentieth Century Club, and the club still controls the operation. It has grown to several thousand volumes and the valuable collection is now housed in a modern and convenient building.

In April 1893, Cisco suffered its greatest tragedy. Had the community been built of less sturdy stock, it is entirely possible that Cisco would have died as a result. Shortly after nine p.m. on the night of April 18, 1893, a tornado struck the town from the northwest, and within seconds 30 persons were dead or fatally injured, 40 of the 45 business houses blown down and all but one of the more than 500 homes, severely damaged. On the day following the tornado the town got together and decided to build a better community from the debris. Within a short time help began coming in, and the storm ridden town began rebuilding.

Oil also has had a part in the development of Cisco. From the time the T & P brought in its big gusher on the John McClesky farm near Ranger until now, a great portion of the town's income has been from petroleum or its connected industries. At the time the McClesky gusher was brought in, Cisco was a town of some 3,000 people. Within a short time the population had increased to more than 15,000.

About this time far sighted city officials and business men decided that the water supply was to become inadequate for future growth. Engineers were employed and it was decided to do something about it. In early 1920's it was decided to build a dam on Sandy Creek at a cost of more than a million and a half dollars. The dam would impound more than 50,000 acre feet of water and take care of an estimated 25,000 people. The dam was completed in 1925 and for years Cisco has been the envy of Texas communities.