Abilene (/ˈæbɪliːn/ AB-i-leen) is a city in Taylor and Jones counties, Texas, United States.

Abilene is located on Interstate 20, which forms a rounded bypass loop along the northern side of the city, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east.

Established by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, the city was named after Abilene, Kansas,[1][12] the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail.

Eventually, a landowner north of Buffalo Gap, Clabe Merchant, known as the father of Abilene, chose the name for the new town.

The town was laid out by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnson, and the auction of lots began early on March 15, 1881.

In 1888, the Progressive Committee was formed to attract businesses to the area, and in 1890 renamed itself as the Board of Trade.

In that decade, the Board of Trade changed its name to the 25,000 Club, in the hope of reaching a population of 25,000 by the next census.

Another group was formed, the Young Men's Booster Club, which became the Abilene Chamber of Commerce in 1914.

Childers Classical Institute was founded in 1906,[1] and developed as Abilene Christian University, the largest of the three.

In 1940, Abilene raised the money to purchase land to attract establishment of a U.S. Army base southwest of town.

In the early 1950s, to advocate for an Air Force base, residents raised US$893,261 (equivalent to about $10,485,510 in 2023) to purchase 3,400 acres (14 km2) of land.

For decades, Dyess Air Force Base has been the city's largest employer, with 6076 employees in 2007.

The following year, one of the most important bond elections in the city's history passed for the funding of the construction of the Abilene Civic Center and the Taylor County Coliseum, as well as major improvements to Abilene Regional Airport.

A half-cent sales tax earmarked for economic development was created after the decline in the petroleum business in the 1980s.

Several major projects of restoration and new construction: The Grace Museum and Paramount Theatre, and development of Artwalk in 1992, sparked a decade of downtown revitalization.

That year, an $8 million, 38-acre (150,000 m2) Cisco Junior College campus was built at Loop 322 and Industrial Boulevard.

Simultaneously, subdivisions and businesses started locating along the freeway, on the same side as the CJC campus.

Abilene has become the commercial, retail, medical, and transportation hub of a 19-county area more commonly known as "The Big Country", but also known as the "Texas Midwest".

US 277 follows US 83 around the northwestern side of the city and north to Anson, but heads southwest from Abilene 89 miles (143 km) to San Angelo.

The fastest-growing sections of the city are in the southwest, along Southwest Drive, the Winters Freeway, and the Buffalo Gap Road corridor; the southeast, along Loop 322, Oldham Lane, Industrial Drive, and Maple Street; and in the northeast near the intersection of SH 351 and I-20.

Many developments have begun in these three areas within the last few years with a citywide focus on the reinvigoration of downtown Abilene.

The racial and ethnic makeup of the population in 2010 was 62.4% non-Hispanic White, 9.6% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% non-Hispanic reporting some other race, 3.3% of two or more races, and 24.5% Hispanic or Latino.

[76] Hendrick Medical Center includes two large hospital campuses on the north and south sides of Abilene, and is one of the city's largest employers.

Abilene is also home to the restored Paramount Theatre, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grace Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts, the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, The Abilene Zoo, Frontier Texas!, the 12th Armored Division Museum, the Taylor County Expo Center, the Abilene Convention Center, six libraries (three private, three public), 26 public parks, six television stations, a daily newspaper, and several radio stations, including one NPR station (89.5 KACU).