Kansas cowtown listed among top western towns in nation

It should come as no surprise to Kansans – our cowtowns are some of the top western towns in the nation.

Abilene was just recently named with such an honor by True West Magazine. In fact, it ranked third. The top honor was given to Deadwood, S.D., followed by Fort Smith, Ark.

Abilene – the first Kansas cowtown built on the Chisholm Trail – will be featured in the February issue of True West that came out Jan. 3.

This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail. In its heyday from the late 1860s through the 1880s, the Chisholm Trail served as a cattle pipeline from Texas ranches to the stockyards and railroad hubs in Abilene, Newton, Wichita and Caldwell.

“Abilene is one of the great names of the Old West, a place where so much happened,” wrote True West executive editor Bob Boze Bell. “Local people haven’t forgotten that history, the characters and events that made this town what it is today. Just as important, they’ve made efforts to preserve and share the history.”

This is the 12th year True Western has presented the annual top 10 western towns award. Editors base their criteria on how each town has preserved its history through old buildings, museums and other institutions.

For the past seven years, Dodge City has been on the list, and in 2009, Wichita made the list.

This story was originally published January 15, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Kansas cowtown listed among top western towns in nation."