Why Abilene
Abilene is a city situated in Taylor and Jones counties in Texas, roughly 150 miles west of Fort Worth. Positioned within the Central Great Plains ecoregion, it serves as a central commercial, transportation, and healthcare hub for a surrounding 19-county region often referred to as The Big Country or the Texas Midwest. The city spans both sides of a historic mainline railway that separates its northern and southern districts, while a network of freeways including Interstate 20, US highways, and Loop 322 surrounds the urban core.
Established in 1881 by cattlemen as a livestock shipping point along the Texas and Pacific Railway, the community was named after Abilene, Kansas. Over the decades, it grew into a major regional center for higher education and defense. It is home to three Christian institutions—Abilene Christian University, Hardin–Simmons University, and McMurry University—as well as branch campuses for Cisco College and Texas State Technical College. Dyess Air Force Base, located on the city's western edge, has long been one of its primary employers. The urban layout features the historic downtown district to the north of the railroad tracks and a growing district known as SODA to the south.
Visitors to Abilene will find a variety of cultural attractions, historic landmarks, and architectural points of interest. The downtown area hosts the multimedia museum Frontier Texas!, which details the region's history between 1780 and 1880, along with The Grace Museum and the restored 1930 Paramount Theatre. Near Abilene Regional Airport on the city's east side lies the Abilene Zoo. Prominent architectural features across the city include the 20-story Enterprise Tower, the 16-story historic Hotel Wooten, the Gothic Revival Church of the Heavenly Rest, and the pink granite Taylor County Courthouse. A 1920s former school building featuring Gothic Revival architecture is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is being redeveloped as a community learning center and main library branch.
Geographically, the city encompasses more than 112 square miles, which includes land as well as several water reservoirs such as Lytle Lake, Kirby Lake, and Lake Fort Phantom Hill. Clear Creek flows past the downtown area toward the Brazos River watershed. Abilene experiences a climate positioned at the edge of a humid subtropical zone, with semiarid conditions prevailing to the west. The city is directly accessible by highway via Interstate 20, which leads west toward Midland and east toward Fort Worth, as well as US Highways 83, 84, and 277.
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