Cisco is a place name for the remnants of a former unincorporated community located along the
Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...
and
US 59 in the northwestern quarter of Section 11 of
Badger Township, 149 North, Range 42 West, in
Polk County,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States, approximately four miles north of the city of
Erskine, and about the same distance south of the city of
Brooks.
Cisco was still in use as a place name by local people as late as 1990, but now is but a dim memory among some of the old-timers.
History
Beginning with the construction of the railroad in the late 19th century until the late 1940s, Cisco was a water station and rail siding on the
Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...
. At one time, Cisco boasted a
grain elevator
A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...
, a
stockyard, a
general store and a school (District 146, commonly known as the Cisco School), in addition to the railroad facilities and several homes. After the demise of steam locomotion, the railroad no longer stopped in Cisco. By 1938, the elevator and stockyards had been torn down, the school had been consolidated and discontinued operations (the physical building having been moved to
Marcoux Corner), and the store had closed forever. By 1983, Cisco had shrunk to a couple of houses, both of which remain standing in 2019. One of these was the former Cisco store. It is said that the grandchildren of the owners of the Cisco store live in the area and the stepmother lives in that home.
References
Further reading
* Thirteen Townships Centennial Celebration, 'The Centennial History of the Thirteen Towns' (Richards Publishing Co., Inc., Gonvick, Minnesota, 1983), at p. 3.
Geography of Polk County, Minnesota
Unincorporated communities in Minnesota
{{PolkCountyMN-geo-stub