What do you think of when you think about the American West? Often, cowboys, cows and vast areas of land come to mind. While these things might be true – the history of the American West is so much more.
While doing research for this series, we stumbled across a photo of a longhorn steer in the archives at the Dickinson Research Center. It was wearing a bright blue and white satin blanket with big bold letters that read:
Abilene of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame
Oklahoma City
17 Western States
We instantly stopped – who was Abilene? And, what happened to him?
We asked the archivists if they knew what this picture was, and they told me about the story of Abilene. We can think of no better way to kick-start this “Breaking Trail” series than to tell the story of Abilene, the Museum mascot.
Who was Abilene?
Abilene was a longhorn steer who became the mascot of The Cowboy in May 1967 when Percy Jones gifted him to the Museum. Jones was an Oklahoma building contractor who had a ranch in Oklahoma City.
Mac McLain was assigned to be Abilene’s handler.
A corral was built for Abilene on Persimmon Hill which allowed Museum visitors to walk outside and see the longhorn up close. Abilene was a gentle steer and people loved to watch him.
Museum guests were amazed at the size of Abilene who stood 17 hands tall or approximately five feet nine inches. He weighed in over 2,100 pounds and had an eight-foot-wide horn spread, I guess you could say he was a gentle giant.
What did Abilene do all day?
McLain took Abilene to several places across the West to advertise for the Museum. A special deep-blue fringed blanket was made for Abilene to wear at these events. The colorful blanket was hard to miss because it prominently displayed the Museum’s name. It read:
Abilene of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame
Oklahoma City
17 Western States
McLain loaded Abilene into a special trailer, and they traveled across the country to livestock shows, parades and rodeos with his special blue blanket.
You simply couldn’t miss a chance to see Abilene and have your picture taken with him!
For example, a photo in the San Antonio Express and Daily shows four people sitting in front of Abilene on the ground at the 19th Annual San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo. They all have huge smiles on their faces! The forever-gentle Abilene also has two cowboy hats hanging from his horns and appears unbothered in the photo. McLain stands behind the group holding Abilene’s lead.
Television & MOOO-vie Star
Abilene appeared on television multiple times too! He was definitely a mooooo-vie star – if you know what I mean.
Dickinson Research Center Librarian, Karen Spilman, told me McLain even taught Abilene how to get on and off elevators so he could go to the upper floors of buildings! Abilene would tilt his head to get on and off the elevator.
The Later Years
Abilene was nineteen years old when he arrived at Persimmon Hill, and he served as the Museum mascot until late 1970. Upon his passing, Abilene was laid to rest in the gardens at the Museum. You can walk outside and see the beautiful monument dedicated to our dear friend, Abilene.
Concluding Thoughts
Howdy, folks! My name is Kaitlyn, and I am the social media manager here at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Thanks for joining me for the first post in our new series, “Breaking Trail.” Are you interested in learning more about Abilene? Check out Bobby D. Weaver’s The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Changing Visions of the West from Persimmon Hill!
I look forward to learning more about the stories of the American West at The Cowboy and hope you’ll join me further down the trail for our next post.
Sources:
Books
Photographs
Dickinson Research Center. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
DRC, Institutional Photograph Collection, (0364.05).
DRC, Institutional Photograph Collection, (PH1969.001).
DRC, Institutional Photograph Collection, (0364.05).
Newspapers
“Longhorn Mascot to Appear: Abilene to Make Television Debut,” The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), October 17, 1969. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-oklahoman-the-daily-oklahoman/113567439/.
“The Show’s On!,” Express and News (San Antonio, Texas), February 10, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/image/31582989/?terms=%22abilene%22%20%22national%20cowboy%20hall%20of%20fame%22%20%22longhorn%22&match=1.
