Abilene (Texas)
From Encyclopædia
{ab'-uh-leen} Abilene (1990 census, 106,654) is the
marketing, shipping, and financial center of west
Central Texas and the seat of Taylor County. A rapidly growing
city with varied industries, it has nevertheless retained its original frontier character. It was founded as a shipping point when the
railroad arrived in 1881, and the town was named for Abilene, Kans. Livestock is still a major product of the region served by the
city, but agriculture is now supplemented by related industries and the oil industry. Abilene is the site of Hardin-Simmons and Abilene Christian universities, McMurry College, and Dyess
air force Base, a Strategic Air Command unit. The climate is semiarid, with an annual rainfall of 610 mm (24 in).
