Abilene Real Estate
Abilene was established by cattlemen as a shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881. The city was named for Abilene, Kansas; the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail.
Later, the city became a major cattle-producing area with diversified farming. By 1900, only 3,411 people lived there. Now, Abilene is the commercial, retail, medical and transportation hub of a 19-county area known both as "The Big Country" and the "Texas Midwest".
The total population of the Abilene region exceeds 300,000 and by the end of 2005, commercial and residential development had reached record levels in and around the city, enhancing its urban environment and providing most of the amenities of much larger metropolitan areas.
As it once was, and still is, described, Abilene is known as “the future great city of west Texas.” Residents and leadership within the small city say it still maintains the same strong western heritage that embodied it more than 120 years ago.
Though Abilene was built on the backs of cattle, the railroad and liquid, black gold (oil), Abilene has developed a family atmosphere where neighbors claim to still know each other and where friends are quickly made.
Abilene is deep in the heart of Texas, located 183 miles west of Dallas/Fort Worth. It also is home to Dyess Air Force Base, which hosts the B-1 bomber and transport planes.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 115,930 people, 41,570 households, and 28,101 families residing in the city. The following numbers represent percents of population: 20 years old and under, 32 percent; 21 to 34, 23 percent; 35 to 54, 25 percent and 55 and older, 20 percent.
Miscellaneous
Climate averages: 23.70 inches.
January is the coldest month, 43.5 degrees; July is the warmest month, 83.5 degrees.
Elevation: 1,570 feet above sea level.