Support the Handbook today. No thank you, I am not interested in joining. Abilene is in the northeast corner of Taylor County. It is situated 1, feet above sea level on generally flat terrain.
The city is connected east-west by Interstate Highway 20 and north-south by U. Reflecting its beginning as a railroad townsite, Abilene is bisected by the Texas and Pacific tracks, which run east-west. Abilene owes its genesis to the Texas and Pacific and a group of ranchers and land speculators. Before the coming of the railroad, the Abilene area had been sporadically inhabited by nomadic Indians and United States military personnel and later by buffalo hunters and ranchers.
By the s the Indians had been driven out, and cattlemen began to graze their herds in the area.
Taylor County was organized in , and Buffalo Gap was designated the county seat. When the Texas and Pacific Railway began to push westward in , several ranchers and businessmen— Claiborne W. Merchant , John Merchant, John N. Simpson , John T. Berry, and S. Chalk—met with H. Whithers, the Texas and Pacific track and townsite locator, and arranged to have the railroad bypass Buffalo Gap. They agreed that the route would traverse the northern part of the county and consequently their own land, and that a new town would be established between Cedar and Big Elm creeks east of Catclaw Creek.
Merchant apparently suggested the name Abilene, after the Kansas cattle town. Stoddard Johnston and other railroad officials platted the townsite. Several hundred people arrived in Abilene before the sale of town lots and began to establish businesses and a church.
The lots were auctioned on March 15, ; in two days buyers purchased more than lots, and Abilene was officially established. On January 2, , the residents voted to incorporate, and in an election held on October 23, , Abilene became the county seat. By the city had a population of 3,; twenty years later the number of residents was 9, In slightly more than years Abilene developed from an almost entirely agricultural economy to a diversified economy based on oil, agriculture, commerce, light manufacturing, and service.
World War II was the watershed for the city's growth and economic development. The initial and most obvious drawback to Abilene's economic development was a lack of water, since the normal annual rainfall is only Local farmers were urged to diversify their crops in order to protect both themselves and processors in Abilene from losses due to weather, pests, price fluctuations, and other causes outside their control. The city began holding fairs in to promote the region's agricultural products. Severe droughts in —10 and —18 and the decline of farm prices in the s and s retarded economic growth.
Since prosperity depended also on adequate transportation, civic leaders vigorously sought additional railroad connections and succeeded when the Abilene and Northern and the Abilene and Southern railroads provided north-south connections in the early twentieth century. Efforts to attract the Santa Fe Railroad to Abilene failed.
Internal transportation improved with the establishment of the Abilene Street Railway called the Abilene Traction Company after , which ran streetcar lines from to Abilene Electric Light and Power began operation in ; a private telephone service began in City water and electricity were combined in one firm, Abilene Light and Water Company, in The acquisition of Camp Barkeley , a United States Army post, in changed the demographic composition, urban landscape, leadership, and outlook of the town. One and one-half million soldiers who spent some time at Barkeley and at the air base at Tye established in infused millions of dollars into the local economy.
After World War II civic leaders aggressively sought an air force base to maintain the flow of federal dollars, and Congress approved the establishment of Dyess Air Force Base in In the early s Nike and Atlas missile installations and launching sites were built near the city, but they were phased out within three years.
The oil industry, including the development of exploration, drilling, refining, and oilfield service industries, expanded significantly after World War II. Manufacturing plants increased from in to in Parallel expansion occurred in banking, construction, and retail and wholesale business. Service employment expanded dramatically, as it did statewide. Per capita income remained well below the state average until , when figures reflected an 89 percent increase; afterward it approximated the state figure.
In Abilene had twelve commercial radio stations and one public one, four television stations, and a newspaper—the Abilene Reporter-News the oldest continuously-operated business in the city. Abilene improved its municipal airport in the s and has been served by major carriers and commuter lines.
The population rose from 10, to 23, between and Between and it increased from 26, to 45,, and then doubled in the following decade to 90, In the population was ,; in it was , In the population grew to , Since the first census in , the percentage of Whites, including Hispanics, has been 80 percent or above.
The census revealed 8. We can wait to see ya! We know that many of you are disappointed that Christmas Carousel will not happen this year. We wanted to try to help fill the void.
If you have merchandise yo We are making space available for vendors to sell their merchandise. We will have some events In November. You can join us for our events, rent space for the holidays or even longer periods. Please contact Marilyn Coates at Join us for ArtWalk on October 8th in downtown Abilene! Photo credit: Naoemi Loredo. Business Mercado is a family friendly event that spotlights the Hispanic culture in Abilene with mariachis, ballet folklorico and other family fun activities th Join in on the fun! The last of our four films is Saturday!
Come downtown and get curbside Paramount popcorn starting at 4 p. Help Paramount keep the lights on! There are only a few seats left!
Register at We have a few B. Canvas boxes left! This month, the boxes highlight the amazing work of Oliver Jeffers. Each box contains a beautiful children's book il On top of this, as a special touch, every child's box is personalized! These boxes go quickly, so don't wait!
To order, please visit: bit. The Dude has arrived and it's time to abide! We figured it was high time for another pizza collaboration. What a beautiful sight early this morning! No construction in our block of Cypress Street!