Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Abilene (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Eisenhower Home, and St. John's Episcopal Church of Abilene. Also, be sure to include Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Abilene (Kansas).
Table of Contents
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Museum in Abilene, Kansas. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home is the presidential library and museum of Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, located in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas. The museum includes Eisenhower's boyhood home, where he lived from 1898 until being appointed to West Point in 1911, and is also the president's final resting place. It is one of the thirteen presidential libraries under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration
Admission to the Visitor Center, Place of Meditation (gravesite), and the archives is free, while admission to the museum is $20 for adults and includes a tour of the Boyhood Home. The complex is open every day except New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.[1]
Address: 200 SE 4th St, 67410 Abilene
Eisenhower Home
The Eisenhower Home in Abilene, Kansas at the Eisenhower Presidential Center, was the house where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower lived with his five brothers from 1898 to 1911, when he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at age 20.
In 1898 Eisenhower's father, David Jacob Eisenhower, and his wife Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower, bought the house from David's uncle Abraham. David and Ida lived in the house until their deaths in 1942 and 1946.
The two-story wood-frame house has a hipped roof with a central chimney. There is a one-story addition on the east side, a porch on the south side, which is the front of the house, and a small porch on the west side. The lower level has a parlor, dining room and kitchen. The upper level has two large bedrooms and one small bedroom.
After Ida's death the Eisenhower brothers gave the house and its contents to a memorial foundation for preservation. The house is operated as a museum on the grounds of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, which also houses Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower's gravesite. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1971.[2]
St. John's Episcopal Church of Abilene
Building in Abilene, Kansas. The St. John's Episcopal Church in Abilene, Kansas, is a historic church at 519 N. Buckeye Avenue. It was built in about 1939 and added to the National Register of Historic Places] in 2001.
It is "a modest yet nicely articulated example of the Gothic Revival style." It is cruciform in plan, built in stone, and incorporates its predecessor church building, a simple wood Gothic Revival structure from the 1880s.[3]
Address: 507 N Buckeye Ave, 67410 Abilene
Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad
Tourist attraction in Abilene, Kansas. The Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad is a heritage railway located in Abilene, Kansas, United States.
It is a non-profit organization that offers public excursion train rides May through October. The depot is located in the Historic 1887 Rock Island Depot, Old Abilene Town, south of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum.
A 1919 steam locomotive was under restoration from 2005 to 2008. It was first steamed up and moved under power in the fall of 2008. Starting May 23, 2009 the ex-Santa Fe 3415 became the only operational steam locomotive in the state of Kansas. The 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive hauls the train once a month.
When the steam engine is not running, the regular tourist train is pulled by an ALCO S-1 locomotive that used to work for the Hutchinson Northern Railroad (HNRR). The locomotive, #4, was donated to the A&SVRR by the HNRR when it was retired. The locomotive is a type normally used for switching and has 660 horsepower.
Dinner trains are operated once a month.
The trip travels along an old Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad line that used to run from Herington to Salina. Currently the train operates on approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of trackage between Abilene and Enterprise. At Enterprise passengers are allowed to explore the caboose and locomotive. Seating in the diner or in open-sided gondola cars is available.
Once a month an all-day excursion between Abilene and Woodbine is operated. At Enterprise passengers are transferred to a hyrail bus Silver Flyer Rail Bus, which can travel on both road and rail. After a short tour of Enterprise the bus is placed on a second section of trackage that extends east out of Enterprise, travels through Pearl and ends in Woodbine. The trip is narrated. At Woodbine lunch is provided as part of the ticket price. After lunch the bus travels back to Enterprise with stops to showcase some of the older stone work buildings still located in the area. Upon arrival in Enterprise, the afternoon train returns to Abilene.
Caboose and locomotive cab rides are available at extra charge.[4]
Address: 200 SE 5th St, 67410-3107 Abilene
Old Abilene Town
Museum, History museum
Address: 100 SE 5th St, 67410 Abilene
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Abilene, Kansas is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its sanctuary is a 40 by 60 feet (12 m × 18 m) red brick building upon a limestone foundation which was completed in 1878. Additions in 1907 and 1932 expanded the building. A 1973 one-story building is connected by a walkway.[5]
Abilene Downtown Antique Mall
The Abilene Downtown Historic District is a historic district in Abilene, Kansas which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The district is roughly bounded by Northeast 4th, West 1st, South Walnut, and North Olive Street.
The 45 acres (18 ha) listed area included 75 contributing buildings and four contributing structures, as well as 35 non-contributing buildings.
It includes Italianate and Classical Revival architecture, including works by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Cayton & Murcay.
It includes a city hall, a courthouse, a post office, and commercial buildings for specialty stores, banks and other businesses. Nine buildings in the district were already separately listed on the National Register.[6]
Address: 313 N Buckeye Ave, 67410 Abilene
Lebold Mansion
Museum in Abilene, Kansas. Lebold Mansion is a Victorian-era house in Abilene, Kansas, United States. Lebold Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[7]