city, seat (1861) of Dickinson county, east-central Kansas, U.S. The city lies along the Smoky Hill River.

Settled in 1858 and known as Mud Creek, it was named about 1860 for the biblical Abilene (which means “grassy plain”). Development was slow until Joseph McCoy, a cattle entrepreneur and later mayor of Abilene, selected it as the northern terminus of the Texas cattle (livestock) drives in 1867, the year the Kansas Pacific Railroad reached this point. At their peak in 1871, cattle drives over the Chisholm Trail brought some 700,000 cattle and more than 5,000 cowboys into Abilene. With the prosperity of the cattlemen came an era of lawlessness. The famed gunman Wild Bill Hickok (Hickok, Wild Bill) served as the town's marshal in 1871 and is reputed to have killed more than 50 alleged lawbreakers during his brief tenure. The appearance of homesteaders and fenced ranges discouraged the Texas cattle trade, much of which was diverted to Wichita. Winter-wheat cultivation was introduced in Abilene in the mid-1870s and remains economically important. Abilene is still a shipping point for livestock, as well as for grain and other agricultural products, and it has some light industry.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Eisenhower, Dwight D.) spent his boyhood in Abilene, and he is buried in the Place of Meditation at the Eisenhower Center, which also encompasses his family home and library. Other popular attractions include the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Greyhound Hall of Fame, dedicated to the history of the dog since ancient times. Inc. 1869. Pop. (1990) 6,242; (2000) 6,543.

city, seat (1883) of Taylor county (and partly in Jones county), west-central Texas, U.S. It lies on low, rolling plains 153 miles (246 km) west of Fort Worth. Founded in 1881 as the new railhead (built by the Texas and Pacific Railway (Texas and Pacific Railway Company)) for the overland Texas cattle drives, it took not only the business of the previous railhead, Abilene, Kansas, but also its biblical name, which in Hebrew means “grassy plain.” The city's economy, originally based solely on livestock and agriculture, has expanded to include industry. Petroleum and natural gas are produced in a multicounty area, of which Abilene is the centre. The city's manufactures include light machinery, aerospace structures, and band instruments. Abilene is the site of Hardin-Simmons University (1891; Baptist), Abilene Christian University (1906; Churches of Christ), and McMurry University (1923; United Methodist). Dyess Air Force Base lies just southwest. The West Texas Fair, rodeos, and livestock shows are annual events. The Grace Museum, comprising an art museum, a historical museum, and a children's museum, is a local landmark, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Old Abilene Town (northeast) is a reconstructed Texas frontier town. Inc. 1883. Pop. (1990) city, 106,654; Abilene MSA, 119,655; (2000) city, 115,930; Abilene MSA, 126,555.