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Our Community
The City of Abilene, Texas is located approximately 180 miles west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, near the geographic center of the state. Conveniently connected east-west by Interstate Highway 20, and north-south by U.S. highways 83, 84, and 277, Abilene is the center of a 22-county area commonly referred to as the Big Country.
Abilene serves as the county seat for Taylor County, one of 254 counties in Texas. Taylor County has a current population of about 136,000; 120,373 of which live within the Abilene city limits.
Abilene was established in March 1881, upon the completion of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Abilene's civic progressiveness and logistic function as a regional center for distribution, commerce, industry, transportation, and education provide an assortment of lodging, dining, cultural, and retail opportunities typically found only in much larger cities.
K-12 Education
There are two major school districts in the City of Abilene, as well as a number of private schools providing various levels of primary education.
Higher Learning
The City is home to three private universities, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Centers of Learning
The city's 10,000+ student population is supplemented by three centers of learning.
Early Settlers
Abilene owes its genesis to the Texas and Pacific Railway, and a group of ranchers and land speculators. Before the coming of the railroad, the Abilene area had been inhabited by nomadic Native Americans and United States military personnel, and later by buffalo hunters and ranchers. By the 1870s, the Native Americans had been driven out, and cattlemen began to graze their herds in the area.
Railroad
Taylor County was organized in 1878, and Buffalo Gap was designated the county seat. When the Texas and Pacific Railway began to push westward in 1880, several ranchers and businessmen; Claiborne W. Merchant, John Merchant, John N. Simpson, John T. Berry, and S L. Chalk, met with H. C. Whithers, the Texas and Pacific track and townsite locator, and arranged to have the railroad bypass Buffalo Gap. They agreed that the route would traverse the northern part of the county and consequently their own land, and that a new town would be established between Cedar and Big Elm creeks east of Catclaw Creek. C. W Merchant is said to have suggested the name Abilene, after the Kansas cattle town.
Read more about Abilene's History at the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) website.
Airport
Abilene Regional Airport serves the Abilene skies with direct regional jet flights to Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW). The airport is currently served by American Airlines as well as charter services. The Airport is also home to Eagle Aviation Services, Inc. that provides maintenance to all American Eagle aircraft.
CityLink Transit
CityLink is the public transit system for the City of Abilene. It provides safe, reliable, and affordable transportation for the citizens of Abilene with eight weekday and six Saturday fixed routes, as well as door-to-door paratransit service, evening curb to curb, and on-call service.