a "dugout" (not very imaginative, but accurate) with a grass roof, and lived like a hobbit.

 

In 1857, his wife Elizabeth joined him and she gave birth to the first settler baby in the area in the dugout, which is preserved as a room in the current basement. They started a stagecoach stop and Mrs. Hersey renamed the area "Abilene." Her food and hospitality became well known and more people began settling in the area, so they built another log cabin above the dugout, which became their basement. President Lincoln officially gave them the land in 1861, but the town was not officially incorporated until a banker from Ohio, Conrad H. Lebold (a corruption of the name "Leopold") and his partner Jacob Augustine bought the town site in 1869 from C. H. Thompson and Joseph McCoy. Mr. Lebold was the Mayor of Abilene for two terms, plus the Dickinson County Treasurer, and a Kansas State Assemblyman. To solidify his reputation as the "true" founder of Abilene, he purchased the Hersey property and built this beautiful mansion literally on top of the original dugout, digging out the rest of the basement around it. Despite his many successes, Conrad built the mansion in 1880 and went bankrupt in 1889.

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Since that time, the mansion has sat empty many times. C. L. Brown turned it into a "Girls Club"--a private home for single female telephone operators who worked the Brown Telephone Company (which became a little company known as "Sprint"). Then it was a boy's orphanage with a classroom in the attic, then turned into apartment buildings. The building slid into filth and disrepair until Merle Vahsholtz rescued it in 1974, removing seven large garbage bags full of bird poop out of the tower and seven dump truck loads of debris from the rest of the structure. She completed the first major mansion restoration, and Gary Yushak and Larkin Mayo (two Victorian restoration experts) bought the mansion in 2000 when she passed away to showcase their wallpaper--Victorian patterns printed on durable vinyl sheets. They added more than $750,000 worth of custom wallpaper to beautify the interior. After 10 years, they retired to Connecticut and the mansion again bounced between abandonments, failed ownerships, and bankruptcy. A new 100-year roof was added in 2015 to prevent leaks and it continues to work flawlessly.

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Fortunately, Mr. Tatner has restored the mansion once again to its former glory. There is life in the old house again, and Mr. Tatner opens his home to numerous popular events held throughout the year. He built a secret bookcase door that opens to the cellar stairs, leading to a fully functional Vistorian-style movie theater with working stage, THX surround sound, remote control curtain and stage lighting,. The 23 seats were donated by the Folly Theatre in Kansas City, including iron side panels from the year 1900. The full-size lobby features a professional popcorn machine, hot dog warmer, concession bar, glass-door refrigerator, seating, vintage decor, and special lighting. The theatre has held comedy nights, family movie nights, and special presentations on the functional stage.

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Most of the rooms are fully furnished in various themes, while several others provide storage. The basement features a large O Gauge train layout, while another O Gauge train circles the attic on an elevated platform. The attic is currently being converted to a museum area, with plenty of out-of-sight storage. While the Joseph has added his own whimsical touches to some of the rooms, he is well aware that his decisions will be judged by history. His has kept the mansion as a warm, relaxing, fun place to visit.​