Abilene, a city located near the geographic center of the state of Texas, is considered to be "the Future Great City of West Texas" and serves as the county seat for Taylor County. The county presently hosts a population of around 120,000 with 115,930 of them residing within the city limits of the city. It is conveniently situated near Interstate 20. Abilene was established during the month of March, 1881 when the Texas and Pacific Railroad was finally done.
The city of Abilene is not fairly as big as other Texas cities, it can still offer many dining, lodging, cultural, and shopping opportunities. The city is rapidly becoming known as a regional center for distribution, commerce, industry, transportation and education.
The city of Abilene, over the years has transformed the economy from a cattle-shipping prairie township to a bustling metropolis, full of oil, agriculture, and military. The breadth of economic diversity which the city offers draws numerous determined citizens. Abilene solicits new businesses by providing many opportunities and tax incentives.
In the 1980s oil bust, the city of Abilene was the very first city within the state to create a half-cent sales tax, which helped to fund the economic development.
There are several attractions to be found within the city of Abilene. For people who are athletically inclined, there is the Abilene Skate Park, Abilene Speedway, Abilene Dragstrip, the Ball ranch and the Mesquite Hill Motocross Park. The city also provides several unique attractions, like for instance The Grace Museum, the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, 12 Armored Division Memorial Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts, Paramount Theatre, Prime Time Family Entertainment center, Abilene Ballet Theatre, Cockerell Galleria and Studios, Abilene Community Theatre, Abilene Community Bank, Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, Abilene Opera Association, Chorus Abilene, and the Amy Graves Ryan Little Theatre.
A few of the other attractions within the city of Abilene are the Dyess Visitor Center Memorial Park, the Abilene Zoo, the Buffalo Gap Historic Village, and Abilene State Park. In Abilene there are over 25 parks that take up a total of roughly 1,246 acres.
The is an enormous assortment of animals housed at the Abilene Zoo, somewhere in the vicinity of several hundred animals. During the year, the Zoo provides some educational courses and summer courses. They even have some special events that happen periodically. A few of the newer attractions consist of a Southern American Maned Wolf Exhibit, a cougar exhibit and a Black Rhino Exhibit. The Elm Creek backyard area will house some animals like for instance skunks, otters and armadillos that have been found locally.