ABILENE TOURISM ADVOCATE
May 28, 2020
Visit Abilene, Kansas
Random Act of Kindness
Abilene City Manager Update:
Friday afternoon we received a call from an Abilene citizen who wanted to pay individuals' past due/shutoff water bills.
The anonymous donation was for $2,000.
The act of kindness is something very positive that has come from something very unsettling in this pandemic.
The donor stated that he and his wife did not need the stimulus money they had received and wanted to do good with it.
This donation helped 41 local Abilene residents to become current on their water bills.
This kind gesture of Paying it Forward for those who may be struggling right now is something this staff has never seen happen in this magnitude before.
This is much appreciated by the City and by those who received funds.
Thank You! Whoever you are.
Top 5 Memorable Moments in Drover’s Cottage History
As construction crews dig deep into the pages of history, secrets of the Drover’s Cottage are unveiled. The new courthouse addition is being constructed in the former location of the famous hotel. The cottage was built by Joseph McCoy in 1867 to entice wealthy cattle buyers into Abilene. 

Eventually he sold the hotel to his head chef, Colonel Gore, and his wife Louise. The Gore’s had made a name for themselves running the exquisite Planter’s Hotel in St. Louis.  

After 1870, the hotel expanded to 100 sleeping rooms, a fine dining restaurant, a small stage, billiard tables, poker tables, and a massive horse stable that was as big as the hotel itself. Most of the hotel was taken down and rebuilt in Ellsworth as the cattle trade moved, but the remnants of the old building still stood when the Belle Springs Creamery moved their operation to the previous location of the cottage. It’s time to unlock odd or memorable tales of the infamous hotel and its storied past.
Attraction & Event Updates
The historic Seelye Mansion, Greyhound Hall of Fame and Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad are all open.

The National Greyhound Association 2020 Spring Meet is June 1-5, 2020.

Old Abilene Town will reopen to the public on Saturday, June 20.
National Hamburger Day
2020 PGP Youth Academy Summer Camps
Great Plains Theatre is partnering with Abilene Parks and Recreation to offer Funky Field Dayz and Imagination Workshop to kids ages 5-18. This is a great opportunity for kids to learn, explore, and have fun outside!
Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau