Cisco — How It Was Originally Designated

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Cisco—How It Was Originally Designated And The Man For Whom It Was Named

BY EDOUARD A. STACKPOLE

In recent years that area of Nantucket's South Shore familiarly known as Cisco has become one of the most popular summer spots on the Island. Here, during the season, whether on sunny or overcast days, large groups of young people swim and enjoy that comparatively new sport called "surfing," and many spectators are on hand to watch. The scene becomes both colorful and exciting, as the younger generation brings gaiety to any spot where they may congregate.

But, if one should ask, on some summer day, of one of the bronzed swimmers. "Why is this place called Cisco?" it is doubtful that the answer would be forthcoming. This is not unexpected, as localities bearing names unfamiliar to new generations are often obscured by the passing of time.

The particular region which has been called "Cisco" has had this name affixed over a much longer period than is realized. Its name came from the fact that a New York banker named John Jay Cisco had decided to buy a small piece of land on the beach front, and during the next eighty years successive generations of the Cisco family regularly came here to enjoy swimming and relaxing on the white beach. Three decades ago, the great-grandson of that first John Jay Cisco, and bearing the same name, built a small cottage on the bluff, which he retained until recent years.

But the reason for the first visit of the first John Jay Cisco should not be forgotten, as it brings to the naming of the area an important significance. The year of that initial visit was 1867, one hundred five years ago. Cisco was then one of the most prominent financiers in New York City, and he was in the midst of an enterprise that only a man of tremendous courage would have attempted — the building of the Union Pacific Railroad (as Executive Secretary of the United States Treasury at New York under Lincoln, he represented United States Government interests in the Union Pacific).

It was a time of crisis. Despite an auspicious beginning, the progress of this unprecedented venture was almost to a complete halt, and the possibility of a disaster was close at hand. At this time John Jay Cisco came to Nantucket, where he found the peace and quiet which had been denied him in the city.

Walking along the south shore of the Island, he would often stop to gaze out to sea, his mind filled with the exigencies of the

Cisco — How IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNATED 21 times. The bluff between Hummock and Miacomet ponds became his favorite place for resting and thinking. It is proper to suppose that during this time he gained new faith in his great idea of a railroad which would span a continent and unite a nation. Whatever were his thoughts must be conjectured, but what is known is that he found in the lonely place surcease from a troubled world of finance, and that the place came to be known as "Cisco."

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During the year 1,868 there appeared an advertisement which asked for investment in the Union Pacific Railroad. This project was unquestionably being considered by Mr. Cisco as he stood on Nantucket's south shore a few months before, and the advertisement was similar to others appearing in the newspapers of the time. The reason was simple enough — in order to complete the railroad the company needed millions; banks and wealthy individuals had already invested millions; now the appeal was to be made directly to the people of the nation.

To appreciate the situation one must go back to the year 1863 — October 29 to be exact. On that date a group of thirty men met in New York City to form a company which proposed to build a railroad from the Mississippi to California and thus link the country together with iron rails, and to be known as the Union Pacific Railroad. John Jay Cisco was elected as the company's treasurer, a most fortunate choice, indeed.

Once the first funds were raised, work began immediately. At Omaha, Nebraska, on December 2, 1863, ground was broken and the rails began to be laid.

The nation was in the midst of the Civil War. True, Gettysburg had been a Union victory, and the Confederate invasion of the north forcibly checked, but General Lee's army was still intact and the Southern States' cause not dismayed. Materials were difficult to obtain and labor costs equally exhorbitant, but the work on the railroad pushed forward.

During the next year money problems developed. Interest rates rose to a staggering 15 per cent; the cost of the road construction exceeded all estimates; and the company was forced to sell some of its rolling stock to continue the work. It was realized that a new fiscal policy and agency was absolutely necessary, and the Directors placed the problem in the hands of two men in whom they had complete confidence — Thomas C. Durant and John Jay Cisco.

These two men devised the "Credit Mobilier," an agency in which the liability was limited to the amount of the subscription of the stock, and the necessary funds were subscribed.

22 HISTORIC NANTUCKET

It was now March, 1865, and the new agency had a working capital of $2,000,000. With the end of the War, men and materials were more available, and during the year and the succeeding 1866, a total of 275 miles of track were laid. But a new source of trouble loomed when Oliver Ames, who had became a large subscriber to the "Credit Mobilier," and Durant became involved in a bitter quarrel resulting in Ames not being elected to the Board of Directors of the Company. Cisco was caught between his awareness of Ames' legitimate reaction to be denied membership and his loyalty to Durant who had worked so closely with him in organizing the Company.

Ames attacked Durant in the press, accusing him of being more interested in profits than in the future of the Union Pacific. The trouble boiled over into the courts, and finally there was a Congressional investigation of the "Credit Mobilier." It was a drab moment in the history of the railroad.

By 1867, however, funds were again running low. Over $6,000,000 had been spent, and the Union Pacific's rails had reached the slopes of the mountains of the west — and it appeared they were destined to end there. But, John Jay Cisco had faith in the ultimate completion of the road, and wisely engaged the services of a young New Haven banker, C. S. Bushnell. The two men decided to put the future of the Union Pacific Railroad up to the American people. The campaign called for a wide range of newspaper advertisements, similar to the one which appeared in the columns of The Inquirer and Mirror.

The faith of Cisco and Bushnell was amply justified. The public response was quick and the funds came steadily into the Company. But another danger arose — the speculative fraternity of Wall Street became involved and Cisco feared this speculation would have an adverse effect equal to the initial lack of funds. He urged the road-building program be pushed forward as rapidly as possible, thus keeping the money in use.

Additional problems arose when Washington got into the picture, and government inspectors attempted to direct operations. These set-backs, coupled with fighting the Indians, quarrels with section gangs, and other handicaps delayed the progress, but at last the Union Pacific approached its goal — the linkup with the road to San Francisco. On May 10, 1869, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific were joined. A colossal task had been accomplished; the dream of men like John Jay Cisco had come true; a great nation had been joined by the iron rails of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Today, as one stands at the bluff on the South Shore at "Cisco," one may visualize the emotions of the man who contributed so much to the building of a great railroad, and to think of him standing there a century ago, gazing out to sea and finding in the elemental forces of the ocean some of the strength necessary to carry on his part in that unprecedented venture.