Abilene (
"ABBA-leen") is a city in
TaylorTaylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 126,555. It is included in the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is Abilene, Texas. Taylor is named for Edward Taylor, George Taylor, and James Taylor, three brothers who died at...
and
JonesJones County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, it population was 20,785. It is included in the Abilene, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is Anson. Both the county and its county seat are named for Anson Jones, the fifth president of the Republic of Texas...
counties in the central part of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. The population is about 120,000 in 2008. It is the principal city of the
Abilene Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in west central Texas that covers three counties—Taylor, Jones, and Callahan. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 160,245 .-Counties:*Callahan*Jones*Taylor-Places with 2,500 to 5,000 people:*Anson*Clyde*Dyess...
, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of Taylor County.
Dyess Air Force BaseDyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles southwest of the central business district of Abilene, a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States. The base was named in honor of Texas native and Bataan survivor Lt Col William Dyess.The base employs more than 5,000...
is located on the west side of the city.
Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is west of
Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the seventeenth-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city within the state of Texas. Located in and a cultural gateway into the American West, the city covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, and Denton counties, serving as the county seat for Tarrant...
. 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 AirportAbilene Regional Airport is a public airport located three statute miles southeast of the central business district of Abilene, a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States. It is within the Abilene city limits and owned and operated by the City of Abilene.The majority of aircraft operations at...
, Kirby Lake on the southeast corner of the US 83/84 & Loop 322 interchange, and
Lake Fort PhantomFort Phantom Hill was an United States Army and Confederate Army installation located at the Clear Fork of the Brazos River in Jones County, Texas. The fort was active from 1852 to 1853 and again from 1856 until the 1890s....
in Jones County north of the city.
History
Established by cattlemen as a stock shipping point on the
Texas and Pacific RailwayThe Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California....
in 1881, the city was named after
Abilene, KansasAbilene is a city in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States, 163 miles west of Kansas City. In 1900, 3,507 people lived here. The population was 6,543 at the 2000 census...
, the original endpoint for the
Chisholm TrailThe Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail stretched from South Texas across the Red River, and on to the railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railway in Abilene, Kansas, where the cattle would be sold and...
. The T&P had bypassed 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 UniversityHardin-Simmons University is a private Baptist university located in Abilene, Texas.-History:Hardin-Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 1891 by the Sweetwater Baptist Association and a group of cattlemen and pastors who sought to bring Christian higher education to the...
. Childers Classical Institute followed in 1906, currently
Abilene Christian UniversityAbilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute. ACU has an annual enrollment of about 5,000 students from across the United States and 60 nations.-History:Abilene...
, Abilene's largest of the three. In 1923, McMurry College was founded and later became
McMurry UniversityMcMurry University, founded in 1923, is a private co-educational university in Abilene, Texas. It is a liberal arts school offering forty-one majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, business, and religion, and nine pre-professional programs, including...
. 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 BarkeleyCamp Barkeley was a large United States Army training installation during World War II. The base was located eleven miles southwest of Abilene, Texas near what is now Dyess Air Force Base. The base was named after David B. Barkley, a Medal of Honor recipient during World War I...
, which was at the time, twice the size of Abilene with 60,000 men. When the base closed, many worried that Abilene could become 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 of land for an Air Force base. Today,
Dyess Air Force BaseDyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles southwest of the central business district of Abilene, a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States. The base was named in honor of Texas native and Bataan survivor Lt Col William Dyess.The base employs more than 5,000...
is the city's largest employer, with 6,076 employees. 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 was 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 construction 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 closed 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 was created which helped Abilene diversify after the oil bust. A Cisco Junior College branch was located in the city in 1990.
The Grace MuseumThe Grace Museum is a museum located in Abilene, Texas, U.S., and is accredited by the American Association of Museums . It contain three museums: an art museum, a history museum and a children's museum. The Art Museum is the oldest of the three, having been founded in the mid-1930s...
and
Paramount TheatreThe Paramount Theatre is located in downtown Abilene, Texas at 352 Cypress Street.The Parmount was built in 1930 by H. O. Wooten, adjacent to his Hotel Wooten. Opening night was May 18, 1930, with the film, Safety in Numbers starring Carole Lombard...
revitalizations in 1992 sparked a decade of downtown restoration and Artwalk was also created. In 2004,
Frontier Texas!Frontier Texas! is a state-of-the-art museum of the American West located in downtown Abilene, the seat of Taylor County in West Texas. The facility opened in 2004. It is located at 625 North First Street on near the Texas and Pacific Railway tracks. The museum focuses on typical settlers and...
, a multi-media museum highlighting the history of the area from 1780-1880 was constructed, and a new $8 million, 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.
Geography and Climate
Abilene is located at (32.446425, -99.745482), 160 miles (257 km) west by south of Fort Worth.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, 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%).
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
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 densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
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 racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 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, of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. About 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 average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was distributed as 25.6% under the age of 18, 15.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,007, and the median income for a family was $40,028. Males had a median income of $28,078 versus $20,918 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $16,577. About 10.9% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Abilene has two school districts within the city limits, the
Abilene Independent School DistrictAbilene Independent School District is a public school district based in Abilene, Texas .The district serves the cities of Abilene and Impact in northeastern Taylor County as well as the portion of Abilene that lies in southeastern Jones County....
(AISD) and
Wylie Independent School DistrictThe Wylie Independent School District is a public school district based in the far southern portion of Abilene, Texas, United States....
(WISD). The local high schools are
Abilene High SchoolAbilene High School is a public high school located in Abilene, Texas and is part of the Abilene Independent School District. Abilene High School is the name given to three different schools in the past 150 years. The first Abilene High was an old warehouse. Not long after that, the school was...
and Cooper High School of AISD and Wylie High School of WISD. A new building on the Hardin-Simmons University campus serves AISD high school students as a magnet school, called Holland Medical High School, as well as HSU students as the Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics. The Holland Medical High School is affiliated with Hendrick Medical Center, which is across Ambler Avenue from the university campus.
AISD has begun taking steps towards creating magnet schools for the school district. The district is currently considering locating a specialized math and science classroom at McMurry University, taught by both a university professor and AISD teacher, on the campus. A plan for the future calls for the creation of a magnet school system specializing in four areas: math, science, technology, and fine arts. The four areas will be divided among each of the four middle schools in the district. Regular curriculum will still be taught, but extra emphasis and equipment would be given based on the specific field of the school, such as extra labs for a science school, and an instrument lab for a fine arts school. Also, Bond Proposition 2 for the 2008 AISD bond election proposed a new Professional and Technology magnet school to be located at Lincoln Middle School, one of the oldest schools in the city, after a major renovation project.
The city is also home to several higher education units, including three religiously affiliated private universities:
Abilene Christian UniversityAbilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute. ACU has an annual enrollment of about 5,000 students from across the United States and 60 nations.-History:Abilene...
(ACU),
Hardin-Simmons UniversityHardin-Simmons University is a private Baptist university located in Abilene, Texas.-History:Hardin-Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 1891 by the Sweetwater Baptist Association and a group of cattlemen and pastors who sought to bring Christian higher education to the...
(HSU), and
McMurry UniversityMcMurry University, founded in 1923, is a private co-educational university in Abilene, Texas. It is a liberal arts school offering forty-one majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, business, and religion, and nine pre-professional programs, including...
(McM), as well as the Abilene campus of
Cisco Junior CollegeCisco College is a community college located one mile north of Cisco, Texas, a small town between Fort Worth and Abilene, Texas....
(CJC), a West Texas campus of Texas State Technical College (TSTC), and American Commercial College (ACC). In addition, a new
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of PharmacyTexas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy Abilene Campus, located in Abilene, Texas, is a school of pharmacy at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. It opened on August 12, 2007. Classes are held in a Spanish-themed building, constructed at a cost of US$15.5...
was recently built in north Abilene.
Abilene Ranked 17th Best in Nation
Abilene also ranked as the 17th city in the nation for their public education system, the highest ranked city in Texas. This award was given by
Business Outlook Magazine in their September/October 2006 edition based on the following criteria.
- average spending per student
- pupil/teacher ratio
- high school graduation rate
- highly educated population (percentage of pop. with 2-year, 4-year, or higher degrees)
- nearness to top-rated universities
Culture
The cultural aspects of Abilene center around a mix of the local college and university campuses, the agriculture community of the surrounding area, and the numerous evangelical churches present. The Abilene Arts Alliance captured the essence of the city with "Frontiering," a brand name for the city introduced in November 2008 to connect its pioneer spirit with its modern efforts to push the boundaries of education, technology, transportation, energy, the arts, and health care. Abilene is also home to the restored
Paramount TheatreThe Paramount Theatre is located in downtown Abilene, Texas at 352 Cypress Street.The Parmount was built in 1930 by H. O. Wooten, adjacent to his Hotel Wooten. Opening night was May 18, 1930, with the film, Safety in Numbers starring Carole Lombard...
, The Abilene Philharmonic,
The Grace MuseumThe Grace Museum is a museum located in Abilene, Texas, U.S., and is accredited by the American Association of Museums . It contain three museums: an art museum, a history museum and a children's museum. The Art Museum is the oldest of the three, having been founded in the mid-1930s...
, the Center for Contemporary Arts, The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, The Abilene Zoo, Frontier Texas, the 87th Armored Division Museum, Taylor County Coliseum, five libraries (3 private, 2 public), twenty-six public parks, six television stations and several radio stations, including one
National Public RadioNational Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law...
station (89.7 KACU).
The city's main newspaper is the
Abilene Reporter-NewsAbilene Reporter-News is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, USA. It is owned by the newspaper group, The E.W. Scripps Company. The newspaper started publishing three months after Abilene was founded in 1881 making it the oldest continuous business in the city.The newspaper, owned in the...
.
George Hamilton IVGeorge Hamilton IV is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to pop-country and folk music.-Biography:...
had a country and pop hit in 1963 with a song about the city, simply entitled "
AbileneAbilene is a 1963 song originally recorded by George Hamilton IV. Written by Bob Gibson and John D. Loudermilk, it reached number one on the country music charts for four weeks, and peaked at number 15 on the pop music charts. George Hamilton IV performed "Abilene" in the 1963 movie Hootnanny...
." The city also plays an important part in
Richard Kelly'sRichard Kelly is an American film director and writer, best known for 2001's Donnie Darko.-Early life:...
2007 film,
Southland TalesSouthland Tales is a 2007 science fiction/drama/black comedy film, written and directed by Richard Kelly. The title refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California and Greater Los Angeles. Set in the then near future of an alternate history, the film is a portrait of...
, as well as his unproduced 1999 screenplay adaptation of Holes, both of which take place in the years following a nuclear attack on the city, where much of Kelly's family lives.
The
West Texas Historical AssociationThe West Texas Historical Association is an organization of both academics and laypersons dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the total history of West Texas, defined geographically as all Texas counties and portions of counties located west of Interstate 35.-Formation of the...
was chartered at the county courthouse in Abilene in 1924. The association, long associated with Hardin-Simmons University, is now based at
Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public, coeducational, research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System...
in
LubbockLubbock is an American city in the state of Texas. Located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, it is the county seat of Lubbock County, and the home of Texas Tech University. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 199,564,...
.
Park System
The Abilene park system includes 29 parks, occupying a total of . In addition, three athletic complexes located throughout the city are under the jurisdiction of the parks department.
The
Abilene ZooThe Abilene Zoological Gardens is a zoo located in Abilene, Texas. The zoo has over 500 animals representing over 200 species. Attendance for 2007 was 152,693...
is a popular attraction in Abilene, boasting several hundred animals of hundreds of species. It hosts educational and summer programs as well as special events throughout the year. Currently, the zoo is undergoing expansion with the addition of a black rhino exhibit this year. Next to arrive will be South American Maned Wolves and
cougarsCougars is a Chicago-based rock band signed to the New York-based label Go Kart Records.The Cougars' music is often compared to that of Rocket from the Crypt...
as well as an expanded
giraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. It is covered in large, irregular patches of yellow to black fur separated by white, off-white, or dark yellowish brown background. The average mass for an adult male...
exhibit and a wetlands exhibit. The Elm Creek backyard area will be built to house locally found animals such as armadillos, skunks, and river otters.
Events
The West Texas Fair & Rodeo, held annually for ten days in mid-September, features exhibits and amusements reflecting early days of Abilene, plus modern attractions of West Texas.
The Western Heritage Classic in early May features ranch rodeo, campfire cook-off, sheepdog trials,
farrierA farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of a horse's hoof and the placing of shoes to the horse's foot...
competition, Cowboy Poets Society, a Western art show and many other activities.
The first weekend in April features Abilene Founder's Day (formerly known as Celebrate Abilene), an outdoor festival held in the historic downtown area bringing the arts, history, railroad and family entertainment.
On every second Thursday evening of the month, Artwalk is held in downtown Abilene. During Artwalk all the local museums are free, the
Paramount TheatreThe Paramount Theatre is located in downtown Abilene, Texas at 352 Cypress Street.The Parmount was built in 1930 by H. O. Wooten, adjacent to his Hotel Wooten. Opening night was May 18, 1930, with the film, Safety in Numbers starring Carole Lombard...
shows an "art film", local musicians and performers
buskBusking is the practice of performing in public places for tips and gratuities. People engaging in this practice are called buskers or street performers. Busking performances can be just about anything that people find entertaining...
, and several crafters and artists set up booths and sell their wares.
There are also several special-interest conventions, festivals, and shows scattered throughout the year, including the Abilene Gem and Mineral Show, the West Texas Book and Music Festival, the Abilene Gun and Knife Show, the Friends of the Abilene Public Library book sale, and the Erinshire Folk Festival. The Erinshire Folk Festival is an annual event started in 2003 and is held at Erinshire Gardens. The purpose of the festival is to spotlight Abilene-area musicians and original music. Another annual local event is the "Cruise Night" parade of classic and modern sports cars held each September.
Also of note is the annual Abilene High vs. Cooper High football game, the Crosstown Showdown, usually held near Halloween. Two of these games, in 2001 and 2002, were for the district championship and were called the “Showdown at Shotwell” games played at
Shotwell StadiumShotwell Stadium is a stadium in Abilene, Texas. It was built in 1959, using Rice Stadium as a model. It was initially named the Public Schools Stadium. The first game played in the Stadium was in the fall of 1959. Shortly after the first season, the stadium was renamed Shotwell Stadium, after the...
.
]
Newspapers
The Abilene Reporter-NewsAbilene Reporter-News is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, USA. It is owned by the newspaper group, The E.W. Scripps Company. The newspaper started publishing three months after Abilene was founded in 1881 making it the oldest continuous business in the city.The newspaper, owned in the...
is the primary daily newspaper of the city of Abilene and the surrounding Big Country area.
Radio
- KGNZ
KGNZ is an FM Christian radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area. The station is under ownership of Christian Broadcasting.KGNZ is also available on 88.5 FM in Lubbock, 90.9 FM in San Angelo, & Snyder and 91.9 FM in Graham, Texas....
88.1 FM 'KGNZ' (Christian music/talk raido)
- KACU
KACU is an FM Public radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area. The station is owned by Abilene Christian University.-External links:*
...
89.7 FM 'Abilene Public Radio' (NPR news/music)
- KAGT
KAGT is a radio station and affiliate of the Air 1 network, playing Contemporary Christian Music.-History:KAGT was originally a Southern gospel radio station that served the Abilene, Texas area. The station was owned by Gospel Radio Network until December 2006 when the license was transferred to...
90.5 FM 'Air1 Radio Network' (alternative Christian rock)
- KULL
For Kull the Conqueror, see Kull.KULL is a commercial radio station located in Abilene, Texas, broadcasting on 92.5 FM. KULL airs an adult contemporary music format branded as "Mix 92.5".-External links:*
...
92.5 FM (adult contemporary)
- KORQ
KORQ is a commercial radio station located in Baird, Texas, broadcasting to the Abilene, Texas, area on 95.1 FM. KORQ airs a Top 40 music format branded as "Channel 9-5-Q"....
95.1 FM 'CHANNEL 9-5-Q' (Top 40/CHR)
- KGXL
KGXL is a commercial radio station broadcasting to the Abilene, Texas, area on 96.1 FM. KGXL airs a Country music format branded as "The Wolf". 96 ONE THE WOLF features Big D and Bubba 5a-9a, Greg Austin 9a-2p, Spyder Harrison 2p-6p, Doc Kelly Jr. 6p-11p and Kid Cruz 111p-5a.-External links:*
96.1 FM '96 ONE THE WOLF ' (Country)
- KTLT
KTLT is a commercial radio station located in Anson, Texas, broadcasting to the Abilene, Texas, area on 98.1 FM. KTLT airs a modern rock music format branded as "98X".-History:...
98.1 FM 'The X' (Alternative Rock)
- KBCY
KBCY is a commercial radio station located in Tye, Texas, broadcasting to the Abilene, Texas area on 99.7 FM. KBCY airs a country music format.-External links:*
...
99.7 FM 'KBCY' (Country)
- KFGL
KFGL is an FM oldies radio station located in and serving the area around Abilene, Texas. It operates on FM frequency 100.7 MHz and is under ownership of Gap Broadcasting. Much of the programming is fed from Scott Shannon's The True Oldies Channel from ABC Radio.-External links:*...
100.7 FM 'True Oldies' (Oldies)
- KHXS
KHXS is an FM radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area with Classic rock music. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media.The station is an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys radio network.-External links:...
102.7 FM 'The Bear' (Classic Rock)
- KCDD
KCDD is an FM radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area with a Top 40 music format. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media.POWER 103 features:WEEKDAYSJohn Scott 6:00am – 10:00amWEEKENDS...
103.7 FM 'Power 103' (Top 40/CHR)
- KEAN
Kean may refer to:Theatre* Kean , written by Alexandre Dumas, père and later adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre* Kean , adaptation by Peter Stone, Robert Wright and George ForrestPeople* Edmund Kean , English actor...
105.1 FM 'Kean 105' (Country)
- KKHR
KKHR is an FM Tejano radio station serving the Abilene, Texas, area....
106.3 FM (Latino Mix)
- KEYJ 107.9 FM 'Rock 108' (Active/Alternative Rock)
- KJTZ
KJTZ is an FM radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area with Tejano music. The station is owned by Elizabeth Nuñez.-External links:*
...
106.9 FM (Tejano y Mas)
- KWKC
KWKC is a News/Talk radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas, area. The station is under ownership of Canfin Enterprises....
1340 AM (Talk)
Major highways
Notable people from Abilene
see this category for a complete listing.
- Raleigh Brown
Raleigh Holden Brown was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1963-1967, who later became a state judge....
, member of the Texas House of RepresentativesThe Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from sinlge-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
and a state-court judgeA judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is like an umpire in a game and...
- Bob Bruce
Bobby Theo Bruce, known as Bob Bruce , was a prominent Texas journalist affiliated with the Abilene Reporter-News in Abilene from 1959 until his retirement in 1998. He began as a general assignments reporter and ended his tenure there as travel editor for the last quarter century...
, JournalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
with
Abilene Reporter-News
- Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several highly influential books on poker.Brunson is...
, Two-time World Series of Poker Champion who attended and played basketball at Hardin-Simmons College before hurting his knee.
- Victor G. Carrillo
Victor G. Carrillo is the chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, a petroleum, natural gas, and pipeline regulatory body on which he has served since his initial appointment in February 2003 by Governor Rick Perry...
, chairman of the Texas Railroad CommissionThe Railroad Commission of Texas is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining...
, former Taylor County county judge, and former member of the Abilene City Council
- Randall "Tex" Cobb, prize fighter, and actor
- Charles Coody
Billy Charles Coody is an American professional golfer.Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before transferring to and graduating from Texas Christian University in 1960 and made his pro debut in 1963...
, Masters-winning professional golfer (from StamfordStamford is a small city located on the border of Jones and Haskell counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census. H. McHarg, president of the Texas Central Railroad, named the site in 1900 for his hometown in Connecticut...
and Abilene) — graduate of ACU
- Roy Crane
Royston Campbell Crane , who signed his work Roy Crane, was an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip characters Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy, and Buz Sawyer...
, Nationally syndicated cartoonist (Wash Tubbs Wash Tubbs was a comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to 1988.Initially titled Washington Tubbs II, Wash Tubbs was originally a gag-a-day strip which focused on the mundane misadventures of the title character, a bespectacled bumbler who ran a store...
, Captain Easy Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune was an action/adventure comic strip created by Roy Crane that was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association beginning on Sunday, June 11, 1933...
, Buz SawyerBuz Sawyer was a popular comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from November 1, 1943 to 1989. The last strip signed by Crane was dated 21 April 1979.-Characters and story:...
)
- Larry Gatlin
Larry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer. He is best-known for teaming up with his brothers in the late 1970s, where they became one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has a total of 33 Top 40 singles under his belt, including both his solo...
and the Gatlin Brothers, country musicians
- Billy Gillispie
Billy Clyde Gillispie , also known by his initials BCG, is a men's basketball coach, most recently at the University of Kentucky...
, former University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coachThe Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the holder of the most all-time victories in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage, with an all-time record of 1988-635-1...
- David W. Harper
David W. Harper is an American actor.Harper is most noted for the role of Jim Bob Walton, which he first portrayed in the 1971 movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, and subsequently in the series The Waltons...
(born 1961), played James Robert Walton on the CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
series The WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. The show centered on the titular family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and...
, 1972-1981
- John Lackey
John Derran Lackey is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He has played for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim his entire career. Fox Sports color commentator Rex Hudler coined the nickname Big John for the 6' 6" Angels hurler.-High school years:Before Lackey was in high school, he played at...
, starting pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is...
for the Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The Angels have been based in Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 1966...
- Gary D. McCaleb
Gary Day McCaleb is the vice president and professor of management at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, and a prominent civic leader who formerly served as mayor of Abilene, the seat of Taylor County...
, mayor of Abilene, 1990-1999; vice-president of Abilene Christian University
- Billy Olson
Billy Olson is an American Olympic pole vaulter who held several world records, including the first 19-foot indoor pole vault. Olson participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics and was to have been part of the U.S. team for the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics....
, Olympic pole vaulter (1988 Summer OlympicsThe 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan...
, U.S. team for boycotted 1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
); held several world records, including first indoor pole vault — vaulted for AHS and ACU
- Ty O'Neal
Ty O'Neal McClary is an American actor best known for playing Dwayne Robertson in The Mighty Ducks series of movies. He is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.-Filmography:...
, RodeoRodeo is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western...
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler,...
and film actor
- Terry Orr
Terrance F. Orr is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the San Diego Chargers. He played high school football for Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas, and college football at the University of Texas....
, former tight end of the Washington Redskins — played for CHS
- Bobby Morrow, three-time gold medal winner at 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, and Sportsman of the Year in 1956 by Sports Illustrated magazine.
- Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. is an American film and television actor best known for his 1950s portrayals of Davy Crockett for Walt Disney and of Daniel Boone in the late 1960s. He is also known as a wine maker and resort owner-operator....
, Hardin-Simmons University. Played football at HSU before transferring to University of TexasThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
. Starred in TV series Daniel Boone (1964-1970).
- Lee Roy Parnell
Lee Roy Parnell is an American country music artist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
, country musician
- Jack Pope, Abilene native who was elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1964 and served as Chief Justice in 1982-85.
- Rupert N. Richardson
Rupert Norval Richardson, Sr. , was an American historian and a former president of Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas...
, historian and former president of Hardin-Simmons University
- Lou Halsell Rodenberger
Molcie Lou Halsell Rodenberger was a Texas author, educator, professor, and journalist.-Early years:Rodenberger was born in the rural Eastland County, Texas, community of Okra to educators, Austin Carl Halsell and the former Mabel Falls...
, Texas author and biographer of Jane Gilmore RushingJane Gilmore Rushing is a Texan novelist and journalist, who formerly was a staff writer for the Abilene Reporter-News in Abilene, Texas...
, was a professor at McMurry UniversityMcMurry University, founded in 1923, is a private co-educational university in Abilene, Texas. It is a liberal arts school offering forty-one majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, business, and religion, and nine pre-professional programs, including...
.
- Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American singer, actress, and television personality who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, and has three gold and two multi-platinum RIAA-certified albums. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality...
, singer, actor — born in Abilene
- Ann Wedgeworth
Ann Wedgeworth is an American actress, best known for her role as Lahoma Vane Lucas on the daytime dramas Another World and Somerset .-Early life:...
, actress
- Bob Estes
Bob Alan Estes is an American professional golfer.Estes was born in Graham, Texas. He had four PGA Tour victories between 1994 and 2002. He is particularly well known for his physical conditioning and excellent short game...
, professional golfer
External links