Company History
Don S. Cisle Contractor, Inc. has been a family owned and operated company for over 60 years, serving southwestern Ohio for that entire period. Now going into our fourth generation of family ownership, we will continue to serve our community's construction needs for many years to come.
The origins of this small-town family business go back to the early 20th century. The Andrews Asphalt Paving Company was the premier paving company in southwestern Ohio during the early 1900s. This company was responsible for turning most of the dirt, horse-trodden roads of Hamilton into the black, automobile-driven thorough fairs they are today. Having no heirs of his own, William Andrews turned to his company superintendent Don S. Cisle to be his successor. Being an employee of the Andrews Paving Co. since 1917, DSC was thoroughly familiar with the asphalt business, and poised to take over the company.
And so, in 1944 the Andrews Asphalt Paving Company became the Don S. Cisle Paving Company. It was not until 1947 that the company would incorporate and officially become Don S. Cisle Contractor, Inc. Also in 1947 Don S. Cisle Sr.'s son Don S. Cisle Jr. came into the business after serving in the south Pacific in WWII, and subsequently graduating from the University of Notre Dame.. Together the two of them successfully ran the company during the 1950's, performing such projects as the widening of State Route 4 from Hamilton to Springdale; installing asphalt berms on Interstates 71 and 75 in Ohio; and in 1954, signing the company's first labor union contract. Our company has been a union contractor ever since.
During the 1960's the company enjoyed much success by expanding into the Dayton area. The company purchased and installed an asphalt plant in Phillipsburg in 1964 which was moved to Fairborn in 1969 where it remained until being sold in 1989. Some projects of the 1960's include the construction of a section of State Route 49 north of Dayton; State Route 725 in Miamisburg; and State Route 741 in Centerville. Don S. Cisle, Sr. died in 1965, and the torch was passed to his son Don S. Cisle, Jr. In 1969 the company was awarded a $6.2 million contract to build the last section of Interstate 75 between Detroit, Michigan and Jasper, Tennessee.
In 1976, the third generation of Cisles joined the ranks of the company. Don M. Cisle, Sr. came on board after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. The 1970's and 80's saw the company's focus shift away from large interstate projects towards smaller public projects and commercial and private development projects. The years 1985 through 1987 saw the company's last appearance on interstate work on Interstate 675 around Dayton. The Fairborn asphalt plant was sold in 1989 in an effort to focus the company's area of concentration on the Hamilton and Cincinnati areas. After his retirement in 1992, Don S. Cisle, Jr. passed the reins over to Don "Murph" Cisle. Since then, Murph has enjoyed success in the Butler, Warren, Preble, and northern Hamilton county areas.
With the New Millennium come new faces. The fourth generation of Cisles has joined the ranks. Don M. Cisle, Jr., after graduating (in true Cisle fashion) from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 has decided to continue the tradition that began back in 1944.