Cisco Historic District

In the late 19th century, Cisco was a small but thriving railroad town strategically located at the intersection of two railroads in the northcentral plains of Texas. That position of prominence was markedly enhanced two decades later when the area became a major oil-producing county in Texas. A tornado in 1893, which destroyed much early construction, then a building boom associated with the 1917 discovery of oil at Ranger Field, resulted in a reasonably well-preserved oil-boom town of the 1920s with scattered reminders of its earlier railroad history. The Great Depression of the 1930s precluded much construction during that period, and there has been little since. It is significant that a town with a population of roughly 6,000, located in a lightly populated county, whose economy has depended but for a brief and sensational decade on ranching, farming, and transportation, has preserved such a concentration of 1920s architecture. The prosperity of the era is reflected in the district defined herein.

The Early Years

Created in 1858 and named for Captain W. M. Eastland of the ill-fated Mier Expedition, Eastland County is located in the northcentral plains of Texas. In its western sector, where the town of Cisco is situated, the county is partly hilly and partly rolling plains. Rolling hills are also a feature of the present historic district. Native trees include mesquite, post oak, some live oak, and juniper. All species are found in the historic district, scattered throughout the residential component.

Cisco was relatively late to be settled in the county, yet grew rapidly when two railroads intersected at the city site. The two attracted citizens from nearby Red Gap and Eastland, as well as new immigrants to Texas who were quick to realize Cisco's economic potential at the important railroad junction. It is reported that in 1881, the year when the railroads intersected, there were roughly 600 persons camped nearby waiting to stake out claims for desirable lots.

The section of land upon which the town was platted was owned by the Houston and Texas Central Railway. Major Bob Elgin, a railway employee, platted the town, while another employee named it for New York banker and financier of the Houston and Texas Central, J. W. Cisco. Town lots were offered at auction on May 17, 1881.

The original town site included north-south streets such as Avenue D (now Conrad Hilton Avenue) and east-west thoroughfares such as Broadway (now West 8th Street). Avenues ran north-south and streets east-west. Roughly bisecting the plat and paralleling Avenue D on the east were the Houston and Texas Central tracks. The Texas Pacific tracks ran generally east-west and paralleled West 3rd Street.
Thus the existence and orientations of those two tracks determined a similar orientation of the main streets, which are slightly skewed from the cardinal directions.

Most city blocks were subdivided into regular, small-sized town lots. near the perimeter of the plat, in particular, between Avenues H and J, were left in large tracts. These were gradually sold to individuals who subdivided their own tracts. As a result, larger dwellings could be accommodated, and some of these tracts became the site of a prestigious residential section. A few early large dwellings still exist on outsized lots in the district along Avenue I.

The Cisco Historic District is situated in the northwest area of the original town site and occupies a substantial part of it.

Cisco can justifiably be called a classic West Texas railroad town. Its particular geographic location figured prominently both in its early beginning and in its later growth during the 1920s. Within Eastland County, Cisco very quickly assumed the role of transportation center (for agricultural and ranching services), market center (for manufactured goods), and banking center. Early businesses reflect those activities. Cisco was the site of the first "national" bank founded in the county, and by 1886 its main street had as many hotels as groceries. Other business endeavors included agricultural implement stores, drugstores, a millinery shop, and a lumber yard.

Historical events of Cisco's first two decades center around the effort to build the town and organize its social and political systems. Certain events and people stand out during this era. The first newspaper, the Cisco Roundup, was established the year the town was founded. In 1882, the Masons organized a lodge under the guidance of John F. Patterson, Worshipful Master for many terms and prominent Cisco merchant and banker. He built a large Victorian-period house in the district. In 1884, Frank Vernon, a professional journalist, became editor of the newspaper, and two years later initiated a drive to establish the Cisco Public Library, an institution that is a source of pride to the town today. Vernon later was instrumental in creating the Cisco telephone exchange and the first long-distance system in Eastland County. By 1886, Mrs. J. D. Alexander had opened her millinery business in Cisco and had begun participating in various progressive causes, a practice she continued actively for the next 50 years. Her husband, a successful merchant and banker, later built the Alexander Building, one of the best-polychromed brick buildings on Avenue D. C.H. Fee, a Cisco pioneer, was another early and prosperous banker, merchant, and civic leader who built a Victorian-period house about 1884 on West 5th Street. That residence appears to have been substantially remodeled about 1910, using Colonial Revival elements.

The most significant event of this era was the cyclone or tornado of 1893, a disaster that focused statewide attention on the small community. The storm devastated the town and caused considerable loss of life. One account cites injury to approximately half of a reported 700 persons living in Cisco. All churches were destroyed. as well as many of the residential and commercial sections of town. Photographs of Avenue D after the storm show many buildings leveled with heavy damage inflicted on the survivors. Damage commonly took the form of the loss of entire upper stories, severe defacement of facades, or both (photo 14). Considering the extent of the destruction, rebuilding proceeded surprisingly quickly. Eighteen of 22 masonry buildings present in 1891 were rebuilt or repaired by 1896. Chairman John F. Patterson and his Cyclone Relief Committee were active in acquiring assistance from individuals and the State Legislature for Cisco citizens.

Most Victorian homes in the Cisco Historic District appear to postdate the storm and serve as the main physical reminders of the town's early history. Arguably, the most intact Victorian house in the district, and one that shows a lively and outstanding use of Eastlake elements, is the Kean House, named for E. E. Kean, a prominent merchant and his wife, a longtime Cisco educator.

The Boyle House, another fine two-story Victorian house with distinctive detailing, is located in the prestigious residential area along Avenue I and was owned by the prominent pioneer Ward family. Also dating from the 1890s is the Gus Ward House, built for another member of that prosperous merchant and banking family. Cisco pioneer, prominent attorney, and capitalist Judge J. J. Butts built the dwelling at 711 West 6th Street about 1900, after his first house built according to the same plans, burned. The Butts House typifies the larger late-Victorian, Eastlake-influenced dwellings in the district.

Although the walls of some commercial buildings along (Avenue D) very likely predate the tornado, only the facade of the old Martin Drugs exhibits architectural details that date from that period. Although the building lost its cornice in the storm, and in spite of the fact that a third story was later added (now stuccoed), the three-arched windows of the second story reflect architectural characteristics of the 1880s. Of equal interest is the substantial masonry repair on the building's back facade, a graphic illustration of the destruction of the 1893 tornado.

The building industry of Cisco during the early years was among many that profited from the town's location. Long-leaf pine, in heavy demand for residential and commercial construction during this era, was readily available by rail from the east Texas piney woods through the M.T. Jones Lumber Company, established in 1881. Stone, the prestigious material for commercial building purposes in Cisco even at this early period, was quarried near Ranger and shipped by rail to town. Also, press accounts of 1883 call attention to the "new bricks" (meaning buildings) being constructed on the main street, Avenue D. That demand attracted at least one professional brickmaker to town, Col. Morgan and his brickmakers. Sanborn maps confirm the popularity of masonry construction during Cisco's early years. Between 1886 and 1891, masonry buildings showed a 150-percent increase, from 9 to 22 buildings, while frame businesses increased by about 30 percent during the same period.

The names of a few carpenters working in town during the 1880s are known--J.K. Miller, Ed Eppler, I. Lamb, B. F. James & Sons, and Mr. McCormack, while the 1900 census shows the building industry supported by nine stonemasons, 16 carpenters, and eight house painters.