Place Information
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Abilene is a city in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States, 163 miles (262 km) west of Kansas City. In 1900, 3,507 people lived here. The population was 6,543 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County. History
Abilene began as a stage coach stop in 1857 established by Timothy Hersey and Eliza Hersey. The name, taken from a passage in the bible, means city of the plains. (The Hersey dugout can still be seen in the cellar of the Lebold Mansion.) The town grew quickly when Joseph G. McCoy decided to use the town for the location of his stockyards. With the railroad pushing west and the cattle traders soon used Abilene as the largest stockyards west of Kansas City. The Chisholm Trail ended in Abilene and brought in many travelers and made Abilene one of the wildest towns in the west. Wild Bill Hickok became marshal of Abilene for a short time in April of 1871. His time as marshal was short lived when, in a shoot-out with Phil Coe, he accidentally shot his friend and deputy, Mike Williams. He lost his job two months later in December. In 1880 Conrad Lebold built what the newspapers called the finest house west of Topeka. Lebold was one of the early town developers and Bankers from 1869 through 1889 In 1890, Dr. A.B. Seelye founded the A.B. Seelye Medical Company. Dr Seelye developed over 100 products for the company including "Wasa-Tusa," an Indian name meaning to heal. Abilene became home to Dwight D. Eisenhower when his family moved to Abilene from Denison, Texas in 1892 where he attended elementary school through high school. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library is located in Abilene. It is now the final resting place for President Eisenhower, his wife, Mamie, and one son. Research Tips
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