Abilene, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Abilene | |
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| Nickname(s): The Friendly Frontier or The Key City | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Taylor, Jones |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Norm Archibald |
| Area | |
| - Total | 110.6 sq mi (286.5 km²) |
| - Land | 105.1 sq mi (272.3 km²) |
| - Water | 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km²) |
| Elevation | 1,719 ft (524 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 115,930 (city proper) |
| - Density | 1,102.8/sq mi (425.8/km²) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 79600-79699 |
| Area code(s) | 325 |
| FIPS code | 48-01000[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1329173[2] |
| Website: http://www.abilenetx.com/ | |
Abilene (pronounced /ˈæbəliːn/ "ABBA-leen") is a city in Jones and Taylor Counties in the central part of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 115,930 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County.[3] Dyess Air Force Base is located to the west of the city.
Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, Texas. The city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 83/84 on the west, and Loop 322 to the east. A railroad divides the city down the center into north and south. The historic downtown area is on the north side of the railroad.
The fastest-growing sections of the city are growing to 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. There are three lakes in the city, Lytle Lake on the western edge of Abilene Regional Airport, Kirby Lake on the southeast corner of the US 83/84 & Loop 322 interchange, and Lake Fort Phantom in Jones County north of the city.
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[edit] History
Established by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, the city was named after Abilene, Kansas,[4] the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail. The T&P had by passed the town of Buffalo Gap, the county seat at the time. Eventually, a landowner north of Buffalo Gap, Clabe Merchant, known as the father of Abilene, chose the name for the new town. According to a Dallas newspaper, about eight hundred people had already begun camping at the townsite, before the lots were sold. The town was laid out by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnson and the auction of lots began early on March 15, 1881. By the end of the first day, 139 lots were sold for a total of $23,810, and another 178 lots were sold the next day for $27,550.
In 1882, the town was incorporated, and Abilenians began to set their sights on bringing the county seat to Abilene and, in a three-to-one vote, won the election. In 1888, the Progressive Committee was formed to attract businesses to the area, which later became the Board of Trade in 1890. By 1900, 3,411 people lived in Abilene, and in that decade, the Board of Trade changed its name to the 25,000 club in hopes of reaching 25,000 people by the next census. However this committee failed when the population only hit 9,204 in 1910. Replacing it was the Young Men's Booster Club, which became the Abilene Chamber of Commerce in 1914.
The cornerstone was laid for the first of three future universities in Abilene, called Simmons College, in 1891, which later became Hardin-Simmons University. Childers Classical Institute followed in 1906, currently Abilene Christian University, Abilene's largest of the three. In 1923, McMurry College was founded and later became McMurry University. Much more recently, Abilene succeeded in bringing Cisco Junior College and Texas State Technical College branches to Abilene, with the Cisco Junior College headquarters being located in Abilene.
In 1940, Abilene raised the money to purchase land for a U.S. Army Base, southwest of town, named Camp Barkeley, which was at the time, twice the size of Abilene with 60,000 men. When the base closed, Life considered Abilene becoming a ghost town, but in the post-World War II boom, many servicemen returned to start businesses in Abilene. In the early-1950s, residents raised $893,261 to purchase 3,400 acres (14 km2) of land for an Air Force Base. Today, Dyess Air Force Base is the city's largest employer with 6,076 employees.[5][6] By 1960, Abilene's population nearly doubled in 10 years from 45,570 in 1950 to 90,638. In the same year, a second high school was added, Cooper High School. In 1966, the Abilene Zoo is created near Abilene Regional Airport. The following year, one of the most important bond elections in the city's history passed for the funding of the construcion of the Abilene Civic Center and the Taylor County Coliseum as well as major improvements to Abilene Regional Airport. In 1969, the Woodson elementary and high school for black students close as the schools are integrated.
Abilene became the first city in Texas to create a downtown reinvestment zone in 1982. Texas State Technical College opened an Abilene branch three years later. The 2,250-bed French Robertson Prison Unit was built in 1989, and a half-cent sales tax for economic development is created which helps Abilene diversify after the oil bust. A Cisco Junior College branch was located in the city in 1990. The Grace Museum and Paramount Theatre revitalizations in 1992 sparked a decade of downtown restoration and Artwalk was created. In 2004, Frontier Texas!, a multi-media museum highlighting the history of the area from 1780-1880 was constructed, and a new $8 million, 38-acre 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, showing a slow but progressive trend for Abilene growth on the Loop. 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". By the end of 2005, commercial and residential development had reached record levels in and around the city.[7]
[edit] Geography and Climate
Abilene is located at (32.446425, -99.745482),[8] 160 miles (257 km) west by south of Fort Worth.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 110.6 square miles (286.5 km²), of which, 105.1 square miles (272.3 km²) of it is land and 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²) of it is water (4.95%).
| Weather averages for Abilene | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 55 (13) |
60 (16) |
68 (20) |
78 (26) |
84 (29) |
91 (33) |
95 (35) |
94 (34) |
87 (31) |
78 (26) |
65 (18) |
58 (14) |
76 (24) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 32 (0) |
36 (2) |
43 (6) |
53 (12) |
61 (16) |
69 (21) |
72 (22) |
72 (22) |
65 (18) |
54 (12) |
42 (6) |
34 (1) |
53 (12) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1 (25.4) |
1.1 (27.9) |
1.1 (27.9) |
2.1 (53.3) |
3.5 (88.9) |
2.8 (71.1) |
2.2 (55.9) |
2.4 (61) |
2.8 (71.1) |
2.5 (63.5) |
1.3 (33) |
1.1 (27.9) |
23.9 (607.1) |
| Source: weatherbase.com [9] 2008-01-06 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 115,930 people, 2005 estimate placed the city's population at 120,021), 41,570 households, and 28,101 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,102.7 people per square mile (425.8/km²). There were 45,618 housing units at an average density of 433.9/sq mi (167.5/km²). The ethnic makeup of the city was 78.07% White, 8.81% African American, 0.55% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.73% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.45% of the population.
There were 41,570 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 41,570 households, 1,709 are unmarried partner households: 1,577 heterosexual, 62 same-sex male, and 70 same-sex female households. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the averag