OLD ABILENE TOWN
CAN-CAN GIRLS SCHEDULE
GUNFIGHT SCHEDULE
2009 Old Abilene Town Programs
August
01-02 Businessmen of Abilene Cowtown
08-09 Wild Bill Hickok
15-16 The Wildest and Woolliest Town
22-23 Early Abilene History
29-30 Tales of the Trail
September
05 Labor Day Celebration
05-06 Cattle Town Abilene
12-13 Lawmen of Abilene
19-20 The Railroad
26-27 Death on the Trail
October
03 The Chisholm Trail Festival
December
05-06 Christmas Weekend Celebration
Plans for rebuilding a part of early Abilene along actual authentic townsite lines was developed in the late 1950's - early 1960's. The object was to create an authentic replica of the cattle capital as it was during its roaring hey-days, as a permanent memorial to the sturdy pioneer citizens. It also preserves for present and future generations some of the spirit, customs, traditions, and tools of the early west in one of the most original tourist attractions in the country.
The location of Old Abilene is not far from the original townsite and is almost adjacent to an area which was once an off-limits bawdy house district. Most of the buildings are by necessity replicas, although several of them, including all of the log structures and the red school house, are the originals. They were moved to the site and rebuilt. The little log church was the second church in Dickinson County and is over 100 years old. A century-old pump organ sits in front of the pews, which came from a church built in 1868. The "Hickok Cabin" was a homesteaders cabin built in 1868, and the schoolhouse dates from 1874. The two-story log cabin is also an original built in 1873.
The Merchant's Hotel is an almost exact replica of the original hotel of the same name, and the Alamo Saloon is a duplicate of the most famous early day house that was kept open around the clock to entertain the cowboys. The Alamo Saloon was Wild Bill Hickok's unofficial "headquarters", and it was in front of The Alamo that he shot the gambler, Phil Coe, in a feud that later led to his own assassination. Wild Bill shot Coe with a gun in one hand and with the other hand he fired simultaneously another shot that accidentally killed one of his trusted deputies and best friend. The legend is that a reward was given to track down and kill Wild Bill. He was later killed in Deadwood, South Dakota.
