Abbeville is a city in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States, 86 miles (138 km) west of Columbia. Its population was 5,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Abbeville County. Settled by French immigrants, it was named along with the county for the French town of the same name.

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,840 people, 2,396 households, and 1,574 families residing in the city. The population density was 995.2 people per square mile (384.1/km²). There were 2,654 housing units at an average density of 452.3/sq mi (174.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.46% White, 48.48% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 2,396 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 23.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,756, and the median income for a family was $30,040. Males had a median income of $28,339 versus $21,824 for females. The per capita incomepoverty line, including 29.2% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over. for the city was $13,274. About 16.3% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the

Abbeville is the center of a small urban cluster with a total population of 6,038 (2000 census).

Abbeville and the American Civil War

Abbeville has the unique distinction of being both the birthplace and the deathbed of the Confederacy. On November 22, 1860, a meeting was held at Abbeville, at a site since dubbed "Secession Hill", to launch South Carolina's secession from the Union; one month later, the state of South Carolina became the first state to secede.

It was also the birthplace of noted states rights advocate John C. Calhoun.

At the end of the Civil War, with the Confederacy in shambles, Confederate President Jefferson DavisRichmond, Virginia and headed south, stopping for a night in Abbeville at the home of his friend Armistead Burt. It was on May 2, 1865, in the front parlor of what is now known as the Burt-Stark Mansion that Jefferson Davis officially acknowledged the dissolution of the Confederate government. fled

2003 Right-of-Way Standoff

On December 8, 2003, in a 14-hour standoff that stemmed from a land-survey dispute, two Abbeville lawmen were gunned down by West Abbeville resident Steven Bixby. This siege has been compared by both sympathizers of the Bixbys and law enforcement agents to the events of Waco and Ruby Ridge. In February 2007, Steven Bixby was convicted on 17 counts including the two murders, as well as lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy. He was given two death sentences for the murders plus 125 years in prison on the other charges.

Notable residents

• James S. Cothan, (1830-1897), born near Abbeville, United States Congressman from South Carolina
• John Henry Logan, (1822-1885), born in Abbeville, physician, served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, professor at Atlanta Medical College, and editor of the Atlanta Medical Journal.
• Benjamin Glover Shields, (1808-1850), born in Abbeville, was a United States Congressman from Alabama.
• John C. Calhoun, 7th American Vice President under Andrew Jackson, notable States Rights Activist, and later the 16th Secretary of State of the United States

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