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Abilene is a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States, at the eastern border of West Texas. The population was 115,930 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Taylor County. Dyess Air Force Base is located to the west of the city. Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is 150 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas The city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 277/83 on the west, and FM 322 to the east. A railroad divides the city down the center into north and south. The downtown area is on the north side of the railroad. The newest parts of the city seem to be growing to the southwest and south following US 83/84 and in the northeast at I-20 and SH 351. There are two lakes in the city, one on the western edge of Abilene Regional Airport, and the other on the southeast corner of US-83/84 & FM 322 interchange. History
Established by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, the city was named after Abilene, Kansas; the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail. The city later became a major cattle-producing area with diversified farming. In recent years, petroleum has added great impetus to the city's economy. By 1900, 3,411 people lived in Abilene. When the city celebrated its centennial in 1981, the city set up a demonstration oil-drilling rig on the county fairgrounds just to illustrate the techniques of "making hole". By pure accident, it struck oil, not much - but enough for modest profitable production. Abilene is the commercial, retail, medical, and transportation hub of a 19-county area known both as "The Big Country" and the "Texas Midwest". By the end of 2005, commercial and residential development had reached record levels in and around the city.
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