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AHistory
History · Cisco

Cisco’s post office opened in 1881, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #15 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 200 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1890.

1881first post office
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cisco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cisco began

When was Cisco founded?

1881

The Cisco post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,063 in 18902020 census: 3,883145 years

How historic is Cisco?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cisco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cisco’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cisco is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #15 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cisco’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.8% of homes (±10.0) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 201 historic buildings, 508 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 98%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cisco’s 508 sits above most of its state (99% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 201 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Cisco’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Cisco Historic District takes in 200 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1920, drew every building in Cisco.Boom and bustPeaked at 7,422 in 1920; 3,883 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 201 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
201
each building in a district counts
first listed
1981
Mobley Hotel
Mobley HotelCisco Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular Commercial1
Bungalow1
Victorian1
Colonial Revival1
Mobley HotelVernacular Commercial
All 2 listings
Cisco Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Cisco’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cisco’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Ten Commandments (1923) - 3: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Cisco, building by building, 1886–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Cisco fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Cisco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cisco.

Read it all →

Cisco, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and Interstate 20 in northwestern Eastland County, traces its history back to 1878 or 1879, when Rev. C. G. Stevens arrived in the area, established a post office and a church, and called the frontier settlement "Red Gap". About six families were already living nearby, and W. T. Caldwell was running a store a half mile to the west. In 1881, the Houston and Texas Central Railway crossed the Texas and Pacific, which had come through the year before, at a point near Red Gap, and the settlement's inhabitants moved their town to the crossing. The date the rails crossed, May 17, 1881, is considered by some to be Cisco's "birthday". Three years later, the town was officially recognized and a new post office granted; the town's name was changed to "Cisco" for John J. Cisco, a New York financier largely responsible for the building of the Houston an…

ChaptersLargest concrete swimming pool in the world

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cisco, 1881 to 1966

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Cisco post office opens
  3. 1885In the archiveGray's New Map of Cisco, Eastland Co., Texas
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 7,422
  6. 1922Born hereJean Porter is born here
  7. 1925In the archiveThe Ten Commandments (1923) - 3
  8. 1939Born hereRobert Cluck is born here
  9. 1940Born hereDash Crofts is born here
  10. 1941Born hereRalph McKenzie is born here
  11. 1955In the archiveCisco Kid exhibit, Cisco, TX IMG 6408
  12. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cisco, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
Gray's New Map of Cisco, Eastland Co., Texas1885Gray's New Map of Cisco, Eastland Co., TexasMap
1890s–1910snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1920s–1950s2 items
The Ten Commandments (1923) - 31925The Ten Commandments (1923) - 3Cisco Kid exhibit, Cisco, TX IMG 6408c. 1955Cisco Kid exhibit, Cisco, TX IMG 6408
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
Large mural on an exterior wall of the building housing the Log Cabin Collectibles store in downtown Cisco, Texas2014Large mural on an exterior wall of the building housi…An old bank clock that once stood outside the First National Bank in downtown Cisco, Texas2014An old bank clock that once stood outside the First N…An old bank clock that once stood outside the First National Bank in downtown Cisco, Texas2014An old bank clock that once stood outside the First N…Sign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectibles business2014Sign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectible…Sign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectibles business2014Sign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectible…A long Union Pacific freight train approaches near Cisco in Eastland County, Texas2014A long Union Pacific freight train approaches near Ci…Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted on the bricks of a building2014Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted o…Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted on the bricks of a building2014Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted o…The old Mobley Hotel2014The old Mobley HotelThe old Mobley Hotel2014The old Mobley HotelSign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectibles business in2014Sign for the old Man's Store antiques and collectible…Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted on the bricks of a building in2014Likeness of the Texas Lone Star state flag, painted o…Large mural on an exterior wall of the building housing the Log Cabin Collectibles store in downtown2014Large mural on an exterior wall of the building housi…An old bank clock that once stood outside the First National Bank in downtown2014An old bank clock that once stood outside the First N…A long Union Pacific freight train approaches near2014A long Union Pacific freight train approaches near
On the map

Cisco on the map, 1966 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cisco. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cisco on the 1966 USGS mapCisco on the 1987 USGS map1966Cisco North sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cisco.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Ten Commandments (1923) - 3
Retake this viewThe Ten Commandments (1923) - 3, 1925

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cisco’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cisco, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,422

Peaked at 7,422 in 1920; 3,883 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cisco’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Cisco

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jean PorterAmerican actress · b. 1922
Ralph McKenzieAmerican mathematician · b. 1941
Robert CluckAmerican politician · b. 1939
Dash CroftsAmerican musician · b. 1940
J
Jean MartinAmerican singer and actor · b. 1919
C
Cotton PippenAmerican baseball player · b. 1911

Questions about Cisco’s history

What year was Cisco founded?

The Cisco post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cisco rank for history?

Cisco is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #15 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Cisco?

Two places: the Mobley Hotel (listed 1981) and the Cisco Historic District (1984).

How old are the homes in Cisco?

30% of Cisco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1954.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.