After the Civil War, millions of Texas Longhorn cattle were left on the plains of Texas without a market. The Union Pacific railroad was building west across Kansas, and Joseph G. McCoy, an Illinois stockman, believed these cattle could be herded north for shipment by rail. Abilene was at that time a small frontier village of about 300 people. McCoy built stockyards at Abilene and sent agents to notify the Texas cattlemen. In 1867 the first drives were taken up the Chisholm Trail and during the next five years, more than a million head of cattle arrived at Abilene -- the end of the Trail.
Abilene, named after a Biblical location, gained a reputation as the "wickedest and wildest town in the west" as hundreds of cowboys arrived in town during the late 1800s. Abilene boasted the largest stockyards west of Kansas City, more than a dozen saloons and dance halls, gambling houses, mercantile businesses, and hotels. McCoy's stockyards transformed Abilene from a small settlement into a booming cow town of 3,000.
Gun fights were frequent and several peace officers resigned in despair of bringing order to the city. The first to bring order was Tom Smith. More famous was Wild Bill Hickok, who became known as the deadliest "two-gun" marshal on the Western frontier.
Hickock became famous for his attempts to maintain law and order on Abilene's legendary Texas Street. Today, Texas Street is the location of Old Abilene Town and Museum, where one can see can-can girls, gunfights, ride the stage coach, and visit a museum and shops.
Abilene has grown from a small cow town community to a thriving town of 6,500 with a diverse economic base. Thousands of visitors from around the world travel to Abilene each year to tour museums, attractions, and mansions in the hometown of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Eisenhower Presidential Center complex in Abilene commemorates the Allied Expeditionary Forces of World War II, as well as the administration of the 34th President of the United States.
The Eisenhower family home is at the center of the complex. The simple frame home is typical of Kansas family dwellings of the late 19th century. The Eisenhower Center is located two miles south of the Abilene exit off Interstate 70.
An interesting sidenote to the late 1800s and early 1900s is the industry of patent medicines. These herbal concoctions, which also sometimes contained alarming quantities of alcohol, were widely sold throughout the country. Kansas was no exception.
Between 1890 and the 1950s, the A. B. Seelye Medical Company of Abilene produced over one hundred different products. This included patent medicines, sewing machine oil, insecticides, hair gel, and a number of flavored extracts. All of these products were sold door-to-door, in fourteen states, by Dr. A. B. Seelye and his four to five hundred salesmen. Several million bottles of products were sold during those years.
In 1905 Dr. Seelye built a fabulous home in Abilene, at a cost of $55,000. But by 1910, the decline of the patent medicine industry had begun. This was partly due to federal drug laws and the growing number of trained physicians, but also as a result of the advent of large pharmaceutical companies, many of which began by making patent medicines.
The Seelye Mansion is one of the finest homes in Kansas. The mansion is open today for tours, and contains the original furniture and Edison light fixtures.
Visitors to the Lebold Mansion can experience a fine Victorian period home. The mansion was built in 1880 by banker Conrad Lebold. Constructed of native Kansas limestone, it is considered to be one of the finest Victorian decorative art museums in the midwest. Lebold Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Another interesting stop in our town is The Heritage Center of Dickinson County. The center contains a Historical Museum, the Museum of Independent Telephony, an outdoor Pioneer Community, and operational 1901 C. W. Parker historical carousel.
