Abilene / Dickinson Co.

Probably best known as the home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, Abilene began as a stage coach stop in 1857. Its name is taken from a passage in the Bible, meaning "city of the plains."

When Joseph G. McCoy decided to use the town for the location of his stockyards the town grew quickly and became the very first "cow town" of the west.

With the railroad pushing west, cattle traders soon came to use Abilene as the largest stockyards west of Kansas City. The Chisholm Trail ended in Abilene, bringing in many travelers and making Abilene one of the wildest towns in the west.

Wild Bill Hickok became the Abilene Town Marshal in April 1871, but his time as marshal was short lived. While standing off a crowd during a street brawl, gambler Phil Coe took two shots at Hickock, who returned fire killing Coe, but then accidentally shot his friend and deputy, Mike Williams, who was coming to his aid. He lost his job two months later.

In 1880 Conrad Lebold, and early town developer and banker, built what the newspapers called the finest house west of Topeka. The Lebold Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and this Italianate Victorian mansion was named one of the "8 Wonders of Kansas: Architecture."

Tour the Lebold Mansion, visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, travel back to the Wild West or check out any of the many attractions Abilene has to offer.

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