Ballard’s Service Station

: Oct. 2012 by Google map
: Oct. 20, 2005 by Kevin Delaney
: by Dale Harris

There used to be a gas service station, behind a small mound about half a mile west of Cisco Townsite, on the north side of US Hwy 50 & 6. The structure was intact at least in 2005. Unfortunately, however, nothing but the base of the gas pump left today.

Harry Ballard (1914 – 2005) and Wava Frances(1917 – 1969) Harris of Green River, Utah moved to Cisco in 1947[1]. Ballard was a road foreman of Utah Department of Transportation at Cisco, later at Thompson. Besides, they opened up this gas service station. Water application, to use from Mar. 1955 including the “service station purpose”, was appropriated to Ballard in Oct. 1954[2].

Wava became the postmistress at Cisco. Wava operated the post office here between 1959 and 1967[3].

If Ballard filled up Johnny Cash’s big black Cadillac, it must have been happened here in 1965 or 6[4, 5]. The station was still operating at least in 1970 according to the appropriated water application[6]. Ballard seems moved his business to Dewey next year[7]. There, Ballard and his second wife Ruth Maxine(1918 – 1999) operated the Dewey Service Station until 1987[8].

revised, Aug. 3, 2021

[1] Jun. 19, 1947 Times-Independent;
[2] Oct. 21, 1954 Times-Independent;
[3] You’ve Got a Mail – Postal Service at Cisco, Mar. 24, 2017, Boxcar Red Collection;
[4] Cash, Johnny (1967) Cisco Clifton’s Fillin’ Station lylics;
[5] arx (2017) An Expression Derived From Cisco − "Cisco Clifton’s Fillin’ Station", Boxcar Red Collection;
[6] Nov. 12, 1970 Times-Independent;
[7] Feb. 25, 1971 Times-Independent;
[8] May 23, 2012 The Daily Sentinel;

: Sep. 10, 2017
: Sep. 10, 2017
: July 21, 1955 Green River Journal


ユタ州を走るD&RGWの沿線にある／あった、Ciscoという町を紹介している。この建物は町から少し西に離れた丘の影に建っていた「Ballard’s Service Station」である。昨年撮影した写真で見るように、現在は給油ポンプの基礎を残すのみである。

「Ballard’s Service Station」は、Cisco駐在の道路管理人をしていたBallard Harrisという人が、1955年に開業したガソリンスタンドである。夫人は長年シスコの郵便局長を務めた。Ballardが、カントリー歌手ジョニー・キャッシュの車に給油したのが事実であれば、それはここでの出来事であるはずである。

水利権の公告によれば、ガソリンスタンドは1970年までここで営業を続けていたが、翌年に近隣のDeweyというところに移転した模様。建物はBallardが亡くなった2005年以降に解体撤去された。