The town of Cisco grew around the intersection of the Texas and Pacific Railway and the Central Texas Railway in the 1880s. The railroads distributed brochures touting Cisco as the “Gate City of the West,” attracting many settlers to town. Benefiting from the 1920 oil boom in Eastland County, Cisco grew to a population of 15,000. Located near the juncture of the T&P Railroad and the Bankhead Highway, the finely‐crafted Mobley building exemplifies the many high‐end lodging establishments that emerged during the period. Cisco also contains many intact brick‐paved streets that harken back to the early years of the Bankhead Highway. Perhaps the best‐known event in Cisco is the infamous and dramatic 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery, where four men led by Marshall Ratliff, disguised as Santa Claus, robbed the First National Bank. With the bank situated on Avenue D, the Bankhead surely served as their getaway route.
The Mobley Hotel
309 Conrad Hilton Blvd.
The Mobley Hotel was hotelier Conrad Hilton’s first foray into the hospitality business. Traveling to Cisco in 1919 to open a bank, Hilton instead purchased the two‐story Mobley Hotel after seeing the line of oil workers waiting for a room and packing its lobby. Hilton’s profits from the hotel soon allowed him to expand his business in Fort Worth and Dallas. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More Locations in Cisco
Roadway Segment
from intersection with Highway 6 and 16th St., up Avenue A, ending at 8th Street
Entering Cisco from east of town, you might say this nearly two‐mile stretch of 1920s brick roadway was made with oil. Brick was an expensive material for road‐building, and many communities in Eastland County used this material courtesy of the increased tax revenues generated during the early 20th century oil boom.
Gas Station
900 Conrad Hilton Blvd.
This gas station is highly unique! Typical of the Union Metal Manufacturing Company prefabricated gas stations, it is the only one of its kind found along the Texas Bankhead route…Doric columns are a signature feature of station designs offered by Union Metal.
Hotel Laguna
400 Conrad Hilton Blvd.
Seeing several large historic hotel buildings in a small town provides a big clue to the legacy of the early oil boom years in the area. At eight stories, the Art Deco-inspired Hotel Laguna, opened about 1920 as Cisco’s tallest building.
Daniels Hotel
800 Conrad Hilton Blvd.
Hotelier and oil operatorJ. Daniels opened the Daniels Hotel in 1920. At the time, it was considered one of the best‐equipped modern hotels in West Texas, with 70 rooms, a café, and free automobile service between the hotel and railway stations.
Roadway Segment
Fourth St.
This is just one of the many brick‐paved streets in downtown Cisco– a reminder of the city’s prosperity from big oil in the 1920s.