Abilene ? A plan to bring Abilene’s rich, cowtown history back to life by means of a multimillion dollar project was unveiled here Tuesday night.

And with that reawakening of history, the community hopes, the town will further develop as a tourist destination.

The New Old Abilene Town, as it is being called, is projected to be a $7 million, 17-acre project made up of entertainment, food, shops and saloons.

Historic Abilene Inc., a nonprofit group, unveiled the plan in front of a crowd at the Brookville Hotel in Abilene.

Terry Tietjens, president of the Historic Abilene board, said, “If it’s not done now, it probably never will be rebuilt.”

“It’s been a dream of mine for about 20 years now,” he said.

Abilene was developed along the Chisholm trail, as cattle were brought from Texas to the area.

In the late 1950s, Abilene residents tried to bring the historic district back, Tietjens said.

But today, little remains from that effort, save a few vacant, run-down buildings.

Tietjens said he wanted the New Old Abilene Town to have a “Silver Dollar City (located in Branson, Mo.) feel.”

The three anchoring structures, which are projected to be a quarter of the budget, will be Drovers Cottage, Bonebrake Opera House and Alamo Saloon.

The facility will be bordered on the north by the Eisenhower Center and on the south by South Seventh Street.

“There needs to be something for everyone,” Tietjens said. “From entertainment to good food, we will have something to bring everyone here.”

State leaders who came to the unveiling said Abilene was in a good position to do well in the tourism business.

Scott Allegrucci, director of the Travel and Tourism Development Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce, said one of the trends in tourism was that people wanted to visit places where they could participate in authentic history.

“Abilene is well-positioned to capitalize on the trends,” he said. “Travelers will want to come and discover what you have.”

For it to work, though, tourism projects have to be based on the work of people within the community, he said.

“At one level it’s all about leadership,” he said. “Leadership won’t be the dollars, but without it, the dollars won’t be there, either.”

Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., who was in attendance Tuesday, said he hoped that Abilene was able to make the project work.

The city, because of its location near two interstates (I-70 next to Abilene and I-135 at Salina) and its rich history, should be able to capitalize on the growing tourism industry.

“There’s just an opportunity here in Abilene that doesn’t exist in most places in Kansas,” Moran said.

Tietjens said the whole project should be complete in two years. By midsummer, he said, there would be some buildings open.

Funding for the project will come from a variety of sources. Historic Abilene Inc. has projected that about $500,000 would come from community donations. The rest, Tietjens said, will come from different types of bonds and grants.

“It won’t be done overnight,” he said. “The time to do this is now.”