History
Follow the Gunsmoke Trail: A Wild West Road Trip Adventure
May 20, 2024
Howdy, travelers! Saddle up and get ready for an exciting journey through the Wild West on the Gunsmoke Trail. This road trip will take you through four iconic cities featured in the legendary TV...
Meet Jennie Seelye
May 9, 2024
Mother’s Day 2024 promises to be very special on the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad’s Smoky Valley Limited dinner train. The A&SV is offering two trains that make perfect Mother’s Day presents...
Explore Wild Bill Hickok's Abilene in 2024
January 10, 2024
Named Best Historic Small Town to Visit by USA TODAY and True Western Town of the Year by True West Magazine, this Chisholm Trail Cowtown is the perfect stop for cowboys, cowgirls and cowboy history...
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Explore Wild Bill Hickok's Abilene
April 10, 2023
Named Best Historic Small Town to Visit by USA TODAY and True Western Town of the Year by True West Magazine, this Chisholm Trail Cowtown is the perfect stop for cowboys, cowgirls and cowboy history...
National Magazine Recognizes Abilene’s Cowboy History
January 23, 2023
The Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau is off to a great start in 2023. Following a banner year for national recognition, True West Magazine named Abilene one of the Top 10 True Western Towns of...
Celebrate The Old West Along Abilene's Cowboy Art Trail
January 19, 2023
Named a Top 10 True Western Town of the Year by True West Magazine, Abilene continues to celebrate and promote its wild and woolly Cowtown days by adding new tourism attractions and art. 1. Big Spur...
45th Homes for the Holidays Tour
November 2, 2022
Saturday, December 3, from 4-8 pm Sunday, December 4, from 1-5 pm From homes with connections to C.L. Brown, C.H. Lebold, bank presidents, WWII Veterans and immigrants to a special farmhouse and...
44th Heritage Homes Association's Homes for the Holidays Tour
October 27, 2021
Saturday, December 4 from 4-8 pm Sunday, December 5 from 1-5 pm From a reimagined former school to a downtown upper story apartment and AirBNB, to beautifully restored and decorated homes on...
5 Ways to Re-Live the Old West at Old Abilene Town
July 27, 2021
If you love the old west, Old Abilene Town is the place for you! Named True Western Town of the Year by True West Magazine, Abilene loves to celebrate its wild and wooly cowboy days. 1. Watch the...
History of the Central Kansas Free Fair
July 6, 2021
The first Fair on record in Dickinson County was held October 18 & 19, 1870, in the James Bell meadow immediately south of the old Abilene City Dump. In 1879 the directors of the Dickinson...
Abilene - George Hamilton IV
June 8, 2021
Abilene is a song written by Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton, Lester Brown and John D. Loudermilk, and recorded by American country music artist George Hamilton IV. The song reached number one on the U. S...
Abilene Town (1946)
June 8, 2021
A great place to live, work and visit, Abilene can be found in both film and song. In the years following the Civil War, the town of Abilene, Kansas is poised on the brink of an explosive...
Celebrate Women’s History Month
March 23, 2021
March is Women’s History Month and Dickinson County is rich with iconic women from Elizabeth Hersey, who gave Abilene its name, to Ida Stover Eisenhower, mother of President Eisenhower. In 1920, the...
Tom Smith: The Marshal Who Fought with his Fists
December 21, 2020
"Bear River" Thomas James Smith was born around 1830 in New York. We do not know his birth date for certain since records have not been found. This can be a fairly common problem when researching...
The Kirby House: Losing an Abilene Landmark
December 21, 2020
On Wednesday evening, February 20, 2013, Abilene lost a 128 year old landmark. The Kirby House had stood at 205 Northeast Third Street since 1885, and was a well-known Abilene staple. The Abilene...
A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the A.B. Seelye Medicine Company, Plaza Theater
December 21, 2020
This theater was known by several names over the years: the Seelye Opera House, Bonebrake Opera House, and Plaza Theater. In addition to being a theater, the building was also utilized as the...
A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the Lebold Mansion
December 21, 2020
This beautiful Victorian home was constructed on the original site of the home of Timothy and Elizabeth Hersey, founders of Abilene. Conrad H. Lebold had great success as an Abilene banker and land...
Joseph G. McCoy and the Chisholm Trail, 1867-1871
December 21, 2020
You cannot write anything about the history of Dickinson County, Kansas, without covering Joseph G. McCoy and his effect on cattle driving. Joseph G. McCoy left a prosperous farm in Illinois and...
C.L. Brown and his Affect on Abilene, Kansas
December 21, 2020
Someone who deserves more credit for the changes he brought to Abilene, Kansas is Cleyson LeRoy Brown. It seems like many people forget or do not even know about what Brown did for his community. A...
C.L. Brown, Kansas Independent Telephony, and a Spirit of Giving
December 21, 2020
In this post, the Dickinson County Historical Society shares about C.L. Brown and Kansas Independent Telephony, a look at notable Abilene patriarch Cleyson L. Brown and the spirit of giving that he...