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At the end of the Civil War when millions of longhorns were left on the plains of Texas without a market, the Union Pacific was building west across Kansas. Joseph McCoy, an Illinois stockman, believed these cattle could be herded north for shipment by rail. He built yards at Abilene and sent agents to notify the Texas cattlemen. In 1867 the first drives were made up the Chisholm Trail and during the next five years more than a million head were received. Abililene became the first of the wild cattle towns where gambling places, saloons and dance halls competed for the cowboys' wages. Gunfights were frequent and several peace officers resigned. The first to bring order was Tom Smith. More famous was "Wild Bill" Hickok who became know as the deadliest "two-gun" marshal on the Western frontier. President Dwight D. Eisenhower lived in Abilene from 1891 to 1911. The Eisenhower home and museum are open to the public.
Turnout Old Abilene Town. South Sixth Street, Abilene. Dickinson County Kansas.
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Kansas 
