Imagine this development vision: take 250 acres of peaceful countryside near the Smoky Hill River. Divert part of the stream to form a 30-acre lake with wide beaches, diving towers, and bathhouses. Add 50 boats. Build tennis courts, baseball diamonds, a golf course, picnic grounds, and campsites. Include a zoo. Hire staff in blue and white uniforms to greet visitors and offer instruction. Then make it all free.

This was the dream of C. L. Brown, an Abilene entrepreneur and philanthropist who helped create the company later known as Sprint. He built Brown Memorial Park south of Abilene in the mid-1920s, and the destination quickly became a sensation. Weekend attendance often reached 20,000 visitors.

After creating the park, Brown added another feature. He built a large three-story Colonial-style retirement home, first intended for company employees and later opened to the public. He dedicated the home to his parents, Jacob and Mary Brown, and located it on the Brown family farm. As you tour the first floor, volunteers will highlight notable details, explain the history, and guide guests through all public areas.

Hazel Dell Gamble, a longtime employee, supervised the planning and installation of all furnishings and decorations. A company history booklet describes her appointment as superintendent of the welfare department that oversaw the home.

Visitors arriving through the landscaped drives will notice the impressive Colonial design. Tall columns along the portico create a welcoming presence. The main entrance opens into a spacious lobby with a crystal chandelier, grandfather clock, and reading table. An elevator provides easy access to the upper floors.

At the south end of the corridor, the parlor offers comfortable seating for conversation. Residents welcome family and friends here, and the space also hosts small parties and receptions. Antiques, paintings, and mirrors decorate the room and appear throughout the building. Additional lounges on each floor provide space for television, games, and other activities.

The dining hall and kitchen sit in the north wing. Residents gather here for three meals each day. Staff also provide housekeeping services. Residents may furnish their rooms or use pieces provided by the home, ensuring a comfortable and welcoming setting.

Chad Rufener discovered his love for Christmas at the age of four when he helped his father decorate their live outdoor Christmas tree. Friends now affectionately call him Mr. Christmas, and his home reflects that passion.

Icicle lights accent the exterior, along with a large lighted snowflake in the attic dormer window. A crisp blue and white color scheme pairs beautifully with clear white twinkling lights. The front door features the original 1890s Eastlake manual doorbell and mail slot, along with a stained-glass multipaned window. Much of the original hardware remains, including brass doorknobs, hinges, and latch plates with Egyptian-style Eastlake trim.

The home, built by Jacob and Joannah Lott, is one of Abilene’s earlier residences still in use. Its generous wrap-around porch sets the tone for true Victorian character inside. Visitors will find a front and rear parlor, a formal dining room, and high ceilings.

A deep red hallway gives a cheerful welcome. A matching stained-glass window highlights the graceful curving staircase. A snowman-themed wall hanging made from an old transom window adds charm and was discovered at the Hillsboro Craft Fair.

In the front parlor, guests will be greeted by the first of eight themed Christmas trees, including a nine-foot Santa tree in festive red that complements the adjoining hallway. The back parlor holds a rotating tree decorated with more than 250 collectible Hallmark ornaments, many of them interactive.

Every room in the home reflects a Christmas theme. The bedroom at the top of the stairs serves as an office and will feature a Department 56 Snow Village display, along with a woodland-themed tree. A snowflake tree sits on the landing outside the primary bedroom, which continues the Victorian theme to complement the sleigh bed.

Visitors will leave this home feeling fully immersed in the spirit of the holidays.

The Craftsman Bungalow was one of the most popular home styles of the 1920s. Typically one or one-and-a-half stories, these homes often featured a welcoming front porch, a covered entryway and a simple interior design highlighted by built-in cupboards and cozy inglenooks. Buyers could purchase blueprints or even order an entire ready-to-assemble home from companies like Sears, Roebuck, which shipped materials and instructions by rail.

Built in 1924 by Ivan F. Krehbiel, the home at 308 NE 9th fits this description perfectly. The five-room layout includes two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, dining room and kitchen. Its floor plan closely resembles Modern Home No. 229 from Houses By Mail, a guide to Sears, Roebuck homes. The neighboring house at 306 NE 9th Street, constructed by Daniel C. and Mada Ballore, follows the same plan with a reversed layout and a few small modifications. Both homes share a driveway leading to a two-stall garage with a dividing wall for privacy. It is believed that both were contracted by H. R. Kugler, who also built the Engle House and Seelye Mansion.

From 1924 to 2016, the home passed through seven owners whose occupations ranged from traffic superintendent, traffic engineer and librarian to farmer, WWII U.S. Air Force veteran, flooring business owner, construction worker and U.S. Army veteran. It has long served as a welcoming and affordable middle-class home.

While the structure remains unchanged, a fire under a previous owner required significant restoration. Four rooms were taken down to the lath, rebuilt with new sheetrock, and several window frames and portions of the original wood flooring were repaired. Damaged floor coverings were replaced with new carpet and wood flooring. With time, determination and care, the home’s character has been thoughtfully preserved. A few small restoration projects remain and are planned for spring, continuing this “work in progress” with the same dedication that has kept its original charm alive.

How do you take a beautifully restored historic home and elevate it even further? You wallpaper the ceilings. Bill and Nanc Scholl, owners of the Dutch Colonial Revival home at 813 N. Olive Street, invited Victorian Interiors (Larkin Mayo and Gary Yuschalk, former owners of the Lebold Mansion) to return from Massachusetts to complete the project.

Victorian Interiors papered the ceilings in four rooms: the dining room, the front parlor, the back parlor, and the foyer. The patterns are intricate, ornate, and bold, featuring cherubs in the center and a heavenly host of cherubs surrounding the design. Wallpaper appears in all but two of the home’s fourteen rooms. The house also includes a butler’s pantry and an ice room; both located off the kitchen.

The home earned placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 due to its connection to Emerson Coulson, who built the house in 1904–05, and its distinctive architectural character. Coulson led an active professional life. He worked as a traveling salesman and then as a reporter for the Salina Union. His career gained attention after he became a land agent and later purchased a real estate business. In 1905, the Daily Reflector praised his energy and success, writing, “Mr. Coulson is a hustler and a young man who is making a success in whatever he undertakes.” He went on to own a Buick dealership and, after his election to the Abilene City Council, became a strong advocate for street and road improvements. Local newspapers, however, did not note whether his civic work boosted automobile sales.

According to the National Register application, the house represents Dutch Colonial Revival architecture with Queen Anne influence. The style drew inspiration from seventeenth-century Dutch trading settlements along the Hudson River. A 1908 article described the style’s “picturesqueness” and “old-time intimate air.” Its appeal grew from the visual interest of the Dutch gambrel roof, the porch created by extending it, and romantic associations with early pioneers.

The home also showcases prized details. The chandelier in the dining room, for example, is hand-blown Italian crystal and is one of eleven such pieces brought to Abilene by early entrepreneur C. L. Brown.

Isabel Tilton lived in the Buckeye community before moving to Abilene in 1901 after her husband died. That same year she purchased Lot 8 in the Hodges Addition from Olive M. Hodge. Based on the tax valuation of the property, it is believed she had the home built in 1904.

Shortly after construction, the property was purchased by George M. Townsend, a farmer from the Talmage area. George relocated to Abilene that same year after his wife was tragically killed by a passenger train while bringing milk to the creamery.

The home is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style, popular from 1880 to 1900. Hallmarks of this architectural style appear throughout the property, including fish scale shingles in the upper gables, stained glass windows in the projecting dormer and attic windows, a wrap-around porch and two decorative upper porches.

After George’s death, the home passed to his children — Ralph E., Margaret L. and Charles F. In 1908, the three siblings transferred the property to Grace A. Townsend, wife of Charles, via Warranty Deed.

In 1912, the property was purchased by Daniel McBeth. Daniel came to Dickinson County from Canada with his parents and siblings in 1871. The family first settled in the Manchester area before later moving into Abilene.

Four years later, in 1916, William Messenger acquired the home. Messenger served in the Civil War with Company D, 46th Illinois Infantry. He married Savilla Hoffa in 1875; Savilla died the following year in 1876. In 1889, Messenger married Sallie Forney, widow of Michael Forney.

In 1925, Messenger sold portions of Lot 8 as follows:
• The east 12 feet of Lot 8 to the City of Abilene
• The east 142 feet of Lot 8 to C. L. Brown, the United Telephone man
• The west 179 feet of Lot 8 to his daughter, Rhoda L. Forney

Rhoda L. Steckel (née Forney) lived in the home for 17 years before selling it to Albert and Olive Macy. That same day, the Macys sold the property to Pearl Rees Robson and her husband in November 1943. Just over a year later, Pearl and her husband sold it to John and Adah Jirik. John was a cabinet maker and worked for Steffek Construction until his death in 1961.

In 1994, the home was placed in the Jirik Living Trust and sold that same day to Constance Hunter, who owned it until 1995, when she sold the property to Gunny and Theresa Wedekind. Gunny was a manager for Southwestern Bell, and Theresa owned Smoky Hill Gymnastics.

The next owners were Robert and Gerri McIntyre, who purchased the property in August 1995 and owned it until January 2000, when Steven and Mary Ann Thornton became the current owners.

Trinity Lutheran Church is the second-oldest congregation in Abilene. Organized in 1870 with 13 charter members, it worships in the city’s oldest standing sanctuary, completed in 1878.

The Reverend W. E. Crebs organized a mission church in Abilene on October 20, 1870. The congregation adopted the name First English Lutheran Church of Abilene. On February 18, 1879, the church incorporated under a new name, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. As membership grew in 1877, the congregation planned a permanent home. They built the sanctuary at 4th and Cedar for $5,500 and dedicated it on August 18, 1878.

The sanctuary retains many features from the 1878 structure. The original pipe organ, installed in 1900, served the congregation until 1932, when Lois Forney donated a new Reutler Pope organ.

The church features 22 remarkable stained-glass windows, now beautifully restored. Many include inscriptions honoring notable community members, including Louis and Mary Gore, proprietors of the Drovers Cottage Hotel during the cowtown era; Elizabeth Faulkner Bearce, wife of an early Abilene haberdasher; David L. Pisle, harness shop owner on Broadway; Jacob Arthur Young, land agent and real estate developer; Thomas Emmet Dewey, attorney; Mary Ann Gross, a widow who lived on North 5th Street; David and Sarah Metzger, farmers; and Christian and Alice Johntz of the Johntz and Rice Milling Company.

The colored-glass windows feature Gothic styling. Painted-glass examples include a window with a bundle of wheat and a hand scythe, symbolizing harvest and the bread of life. A large double window presents the Good Shepherd and Christ knocking at a door with no exterior knob.

Trinity Lutheran Church earned placement on the National Register of Historic Places for its outstanding Gothic architectural features and its importance to the community’s early development during the booming cattle and agricultural era.