Historic Abilene in Kansas - StoppingPoints.com

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	Historic Abilene
Kansas State Historical Marker
Dickinson County
	Dickinson County Turnout Old Abilene Town South Sixth Street, Abilene , KS, USA

	At the end of the Civil War when millions of longhorns were left on the plains of Texas without a market, the Union Pacific was building west across Kansas. Joseph McCoy, an Illinois stockman, believed these cattle could be herded north for shipment by rail. He built yards at Abilene and sent agents to notify the Texas cattlemen. In 1867 the first drives were made up the Chisholm Trail and during the next five years more than a million head were received.