Part of Old Town Abilene
July 20th, 9:10 PM
Long Day. We got to Abilene and headed straight to Old Town. My God, it was hot! It was over 100 degrees and the humidity was high to boot. We got there about 2:25 PM and the next gunfight was at 2:30 PM. We just got there in time to see it.
Gunfighter, right before the lead flew!
We enjoyed that, even with the heat, and then we took a group photo with the gunfighters. We had not stopped, so everyone was definitely hungry. So we ate lunch at McDonalds. By then Dad was getting pretty tired, so we checked into our hotel, The Best Western President’s Inn. It was at this time that we discovered Dad had brought the wrong hose for his concentrator. The concentrator, oxygen concentrator, sucks in air from the room and through a process I have not learned, increases the amount of oxygen in it and feed that O2 rich air to the person. Dad had to have it, so Margo, Mom, and I headed to the nearest hospital to try to get one. That was our only option as today is Sunday, and nothing else is open. We jumped through a few hoops but ended up securing one. Upon our return we found that Dad had jerry-rigged the one he brought. His adaptation would work fine, so we didn’t need the one we procured. But, we kept it anyway. I should have been upset, I suppose, but this was his trip, so what are you gonna do?
With Dad resting, and the two girls deciding the pool sounded like a good idea, Margo, Mom, and I decided to sight see.
My family, in the middle, and the gunfighters of Abilene, KS around them. They put on a nice show for us.
There are two things in Abilene I wanted to see; The Eisenhower Presidential Library and the grave of Bear River Tom Smith. Everyone knows who Dwight D. Eisenhower was; Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II and then President of the United States. Bear River Tom Smith is really only know to those in Abilene, KS and those of us who enjoy the history of the Old West.
Tom Smith was hired as Police Chief of Abilene in May 1870. Abilene had been in existence for 13 years prior, but the last three had seen crime take huge spike upward as cattle drovers from Texas had begun to take advantage of the railroad access that the city offered in 1867.
Abilene is famous as a western frontier town. Their first sherrif was Bear River Tom Smith. He was known for not carrying a gun, and getting the job done. He was killed by a bad guy with an axe.
The city tried a number of men as head lawman, but all were either too incompetent or scared to be effective. Smith was hired and became the first really effective Marshall Abilene had seen. One of his first official acts was to ban the carrying of firearms in the city limits. Tom himself seldom carried a gun and often dealt with lawbreakers with his fists. This lasted until November of the same year, when Smith went to arrest two men wanted for murder. He and a deputy went to the farmhouse to serve the warrant. A gunfight erupted and Smith has hit. The deputy ran for it, and one of the badmen came outside with an axe, both killing and decapitating the Marshall. Thus martyred, Smith became a local legend, and was reportedly something of a hero to Eisenhower. Smith’s replacement would be the legendary Wild Bill Hickok.
We started with the Presidential Library as it would soon close.
1914 Rausch and Lang electric car. Terrible picture, but I was impressed they had an electric car in 1914
The cemetery would be open until dusk. The Library has three areas where we could visit today; the chapel where he, wife Mamie, and son Doud are buried, the museum, and his boyhood home. We started in the museum and saw several exhibits from his World War II days and his days in Denver. Mamie was from Colorado, having lived there for most of her life, until she married the future President. So the Colorado connection has all of us a reason to be a bit more interested. One of the most interesting things in the museum, at least as far as I was concerned, was an electric car. Mamie’s parents, the Douds, were well to do, and could afford this $4000, 1914 Rauch and Lang, automobile. It had a 100 mile range if you didn’t mind driving only 13 miles per hour. There were many other things there, ranging from the registration papers of the electric car, to a name plate from a Japanese plane that crashed during the attack of Pearl Harbor.
Eisenhower's boyhood home
We rushed a little bit through the museum, because it was getting close to closing time.
Eisenhower’s boyhood home is located on the grounds of the Library. But as everything would be shutting down in 15-20 minutes, all we did was snap a picture of the outside, and walk over to The Place of Meditation, which is what they call the combination chapel and tomb. The Place of Meditation has a very somber feel to it. The tombs of the ex-President, his wife, and son are in a special place of the chapel. The son, Doud Dwight died of scarlet fever at age three, has a plaque, but that is only visible sign he is there. The parents have plain, but grand, grave coverings that look like polished oak, but are really marble. We spent a few silent minutes admiring the architecture, taking a few pictures, and paying our respects and then it was time to leave. No one ever asked us to leave any of the buildings, but we did not want to hold up anyone’s Sunday plans either.
Abilene is also home the the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidental Library. His boyhood home is there, and he and Mamie are buried there.
With the President visited (This is the 5th Presidential grave I have visited. I’m going to have to meet a living one some day), it was off to see Tom Smith’s grave. I’ve already told his story, and although I was very interested in seeing his grave the others weren’t. It was hot, and we were all tired. Driving over seven hours in a car, even with rest breaks is still work, and then with the further sites and adventures it was time for a rest. So, with a map to grave in hand, we quickly found it. After just long enough to snap a few pictures we were back in the mini van and on our way to the hotel. The rest of the evening was spent with dinner, a dip in the hotel pool, and TV. We got to bed as early as we could. We would be up early tomorrow. We had to drive half way across Kansas and all the way through Missouri to get to our final destination, St. Louis.
When in Abilene, KS pay your respects to the man who saved the Free World
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is a multi-faceted facility dedicated to the memory of the 34th President of the United States. It consists of the former general and president’s papers housed in the Research Library; The Pylons, a group of obelisk-like monuments that commemorate the six Eisenhower (including Dwight D) who grew to adulthood; The Museum, which holds many objects from the life and careers of Eisenhower; The Eisenhower Boyhood Home, the actual home the president grew up in, and The Place of Meditation, which is a combination chapel and tomb.
When we went in July 2003 I particularly enjoyed the museum. As would be expected there were many World War II items, as Eisenhower commanded the Allied Forces during that conflict. But what I found most interesting were the extraordinary ordinary things. Foremost among them was an electric car, vintage 1914, owned by Mamie Eisenhower’s parents. Through the museum I also learned that Mamie’s parents were well to do, and lived in my home state of Colorado. I knew that the Eisenhower’s held a special place in their hearts for Colorado. This explained why.
The Pylons could use more explanation as to why they were erected and what parts the other Eisenhowers played in US history. But, to be honest we weren’t able to give them a lot of attention on this trip, so we may have missed it.
The Library was not open on the Sunday we went, and is chiefly for research anyway. So the average tourist would not access it anyway.
The Place of Meditation had a very somber feel to it. It very much felt like walking into a church, during a funeral. There are stained glass windows adding to that feel. The graves of the President, First Lady, and their deceased son, Doud Dwight, are at one end. They are laid to rest in a three sided tomb, made of marble, with plain, but powerful, grave covers. There are three brass plaques that give the birth and death information at the foot of the graves.
We did not tour the Boyhood home. I believe we skipped it due to time, and preferred to spend what time we did have at the Museum and Place of Meditation. But the Boyhood home had a very homey appearance and gave every promise of representing a turn of the 20th Century experience.
We spent about an hour, but could have easily doubled that. The museum was smaller than I expected, but not small. His life covered such an important and seminal part of US history, I expected more. Perhaps there is just not room for all they have to display. That does seem likely as space did not seem to be wasted or unused.
If in the area, I would probably see it again, to see what I had missed, but after one complete visit you will have covered the material pretty well.
Registration for the electric car
Information about the Electric Car
Plate from a Japanese Plane from
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about the Japanese plate
The President's vital information
Mamie Eisenhower
Doud Dwight died at age three of
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Their tomb
Stained glass window in the Chapel
Close up of the grave covers. Ve
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Wish it was more, but I heard it will be!
Old Abilene Town is recreation of the way 19th century Abilene was supposed to have looked at its cattle drive peak. There are many buildings, most of them are replicas, but several including the church are actual historic buildings that have been moved to this site.
Old Abilene Town features gunfights on the weekends, self guided tours of the buildings, and the Alamo Saloon, where you can enjoy a sarsaparilla.
We saw Old Abilene Town in 2003, and it was a bit run down. It was definitely not crowded. We were almost the only people there, aside from the re-enactors. The gunfight was great and well choreographed. We toured the buildings and enjoyed reading about them on the displays. Any we had a drink at the Alamo Saloon, just like Wild Bill did. We enjoyed the hour we spent there and wished that there were more to see.
I believe the attraction was shut down for a time, but I have read that there are big plans to expand it and greatly add to it to make it more attractive to the people blowing by on I-70. It is still listed on Abilene’s official tourism site. (March 31, 2008)
This was taken in 2003. I have h
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