ABILENE - Thanks to more than 70 donors from Abilene and throughout Kansas, "Shotgun" Ben Thompson’s Bulls Head Saloon Longhorn is returning to Abilene.
“We are beyond excited to bring this unique piece of Abilene’s history back to our community,” said Julie Roller Weeks, Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau director.
According to a signed document from the late Jack Glover, an old west collector and its most recent owner, the bull head is from the saloon that belonged to “Shotgun Ben Thompson” in Abilene, Kansas. The name of the saloon was the “Bull Head” and was headquarters for the drovers that trailed cattle from Texas to Kansas in the last 1860s and 1870s.
Glover attested he purchased it from Marvin Tong. Tong was the curator of the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, Oklahoma. How Tong came into possession of the longhorn is unknown.
“When visitors come to Abilene, they want to see pieces from our Chisholm Trail days, this longhorn is an important part of telling that story,” Roller Weeks said.
Purchased during the live auction on Saturday, Abilene’s donors faced several other bidders but ultimately prevailed with a bid of $11,000.
Now, the volunteers at Old Abilene Town will begin work on a secure case to display the longhorn’s 40” horn spread. Lowell Westfall volunteered to travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico to pick up the longhorn to bring it back to Abilene. A special “first look” reception will be held for the donors at a later date. Anyone still wishing to support this effort, including donations for supplies for the display case and signage can donate online at www.AbileneKansas.org/longhorns or directly to the Community Foundation of Dickinson County, 418 NW 3rd Street.
“The community rallied around this effort to preserve and promote our history,” Roller Weeks said. “It’s a great day in Abilene!”