Cisco is a ghost town in Grand County, Utah, United States near the junction of State Route 128 (SR‑128) and Interstate 70 (I‑70).

History

The town started in the 1880s as a saloon and water-refilling station for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. As work crews and, later, travelers came through, stores, hotels and restaurants sprang up to accommodate them. Nearby cattle ranchers and sheep herders in the Book Cliffs north of town began using Cisco as a livestock and provisioning center. Around the turn of the 20th century sheep were sheared at Cisco before being shipped to market. After oil and natural gas were discovered, Cisco continued to grow. The town's decline coincided with the demise of the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

. Cisco's already declining economy crashed when Interstate 70 was built, bypassing Cisco. The town site contains many relics of a typical old west railroad town. Cisco survived long enough into the 20th century to be assigned a ZIP Code, 84515.http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown_zip.jsp USPS Zip Code locator The ghost town's easy access and proximity to the freeway have lured vandals, heavily damaging the historical artifacts. While Cisco had no permanent residents for many years, there are many known

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

oil deposits around Cisco, and efforts have been made over the years to extract this shale leading to the town having a few migrant residents working for the oil drilling firms involved.

Mining

Oil and natural gas were discovered near Cisco in 1924. In 2005, new oil and gas wells were drilled in the nearby Cisco Oil Field by a Reno, Nevada-based company. Newly drilled wells can be seen next to the railroad track and around the freeway. Cisco Mayor Dan Vanover was also an oil and turquoise miner from 1963 until his death in 1986.

Transportation

Cisco is along the former routing of US-6/ US-50. The town was bypassed with the completion of I‑70 through the area but is still accessible by way of Exit 204. Cisco is listed as a control city for SR‑128, although the highway does not enter Cisco.http://members.aol.com/utahhwys/rte070.htm Dan Stober's Utah Highways page (personal website) last accessed 26 Aug 2007 Cisco is still served by the Union Pacific Railroad where a rail siding remains in use. The California Zephyr passenger train passes through Cisco, but is not a scheduled stop. During the summer months, whitewater river

rafters A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), wooden beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles ...

use Cisco as a landing site, particularly for a trip through

Westwater Canyon Westwater Canyon is a canyon located on the Colorado River in Eastern Utah between the Utah/Colorado state line and Cisco, Utah. The inner gorge of the canyon is made up of black Precambrian rock and contains class III and IV rapids which are ...

. The

Kokopelli Kokopelli () is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fer ...

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

Trail passes through Cisco.

Gallery

File:Oil wells in Cisco, Utah.jpg, Oil wells in Cisco File:Oil field in Cisco, Utah.jpg, Cisco oil field File:Cisco Yellow House with 1932 rig.jpg, Cisco Yellow House with 1932 rig File:Highway exit 204 on Interstate 70 for Cisco, UT.jpg, Exit sign on westbound Interstate 70

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cisco has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

References

External links

{{Authority control Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Ghost towns in Grand County, Utah