Abbeville County, South Carolina

Abbeville County, South Carolina
Location in the state of South Carolina
South Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded	1785
Seat	Abbeville
Largest city	Abbeville
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	511 sq mi (1,323 km²) 508 sq mi (1,316 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.59%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	25,417 50/sq mi (19.3/km²)
Website	www.abbevillecountysc.com

Abbeville County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 25,417.^[1] Its county seat is Abbeville.^[2] It is the first county in the United States alphabetically.

History

Both Abbeville County and the county seat, Abbeville, SC, get their name from the town of Abbeville, France.^[3] The county was originally part of Ninety-Six District, South Carolina, but was designated Abbeville County in 1785, with parts of the county later going to the creation of the counties of Greenwood and McCormick.^[3] Abbeville County was settled by mostly Scotch Irish and French-Huguenot farmers in the mid-18th century.^[3]

• There was a historic treaty with the Cherokee Indians that was signed in Dewitt's Corner, which is now known as Due West.^[3]
• Abbeville County was a hotbed of secession before the Civil War and was also where the last Confederate council of war was held^[3]

In 1950 Abbeville County had a population of 22,456.^[4]

Bryan McClain is the chairman of the Abbeville County Council, who also represents District 7.^[5] The other members and their districts are as following:

• Charlie Stone- District 1^[5]
• John Calhoun- District 2^[5]
• Claude Thomas- District 3^[5]
• William Norris- District 4^[5]
• Oscar Klugh- District 5^[5]
• Don Campbell- District 6^[5]

Geography

The county seat of Abbeville County is Abbeville, SC. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 511 square miles (1,323.5 km²), of which 508 square miles (1,315.7 km²) is land and 3 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.59%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Greenville County, South Carolina - north
• Anderson County, South Carolina - north
• Laurens County, South Carolina - northeast
• Greenwood County, South Carolina - east
• McCormick County, South Carolina - southeast
• Elbert County, Georgia - west

Major highways

National protected area with much time

• Sumter National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 26,167 people, 10,131 households, and 7,284 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 11,656 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.33% White, 30.29% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.83% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.1% were of American, 9.7% Irish, 6.7% English, 5.5% German and 5.3% Scotch-Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 10,131 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,635, and the median income for a family was $38,847. Males had a median income of $30,452 versus $21,045 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,370. About 10.10% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

In 2010 Abbeville County had a population of 25,417. The racial and ethnic composition was 69.1% non-Hispanic white, 28.3% black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% non-Hispanic of some other race, 1.1% reporting two or more races and 1.0% Hispanic.^[7]

Cities and towns

Municipalities

• Abbeville
• Calhoun Falls
• Donalds
• Due West
• Honea Path (territory in Anderson and Abbeville Counties)
• Lowndesville
• Ware Shoals (territory in Greenwood, Abbeville and Laurens Counties)

Unincorporated

• Antreville
• Lake Secession

Education

Unified School Districts

All of Abbeville County schools fall into one district where the district superintendent is Dr. Ivan Randolph.^[8] The following schools are within the district:

• Abbeville County Adult Education^[8]
• Abbeville High School(9-12)^[8]
• Abbeville County Career Center(10-12)^[8]
• Cherokee Trail Elementary(K-7)^[8]
• Diamond Hill Elementary(K-7)^[8]
• Dixie High School(8-12)^[8]
• John C. Calhoun Elementary(K-5)^[8]
• Long Cane Primary(K-2)^[8]
• Westwood Elementary(3-5)^[8]
• Wright Middle School(6-8)^[8]

Colleges and universities

• Erskine College, a four-year Christian liberal arts college, with 575 undergraduates, is located in Due West, South Carolina
• Piedmont Technical College, in Abbeville, SC

Notable residents

Portrait of John C. Calhoun, famous politician from Abbeville County.

• John C. Calhoun, (1782–1850), born in the Abbeville District, United States Congressman and United States Senator from South Carolina, Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and Vice President of the United States ^[9]
• Langdon Cheves, (1776–1857), born in Abbeville County at Rocky River, banker and United States Congressman from South Carolina^[9]
• Francis Alanson Cunningham, (1804–1864), born in the Abbeville District, physician and United States Congressman from Ohio ^[9]
• Joshua Hill, (1812–1891), born in the Abbeville District, United States Senator from Georgia ^[9]
• Abner Smith Lipscomb, (1816–1890), born in the Abbeville District, member of the Alabama Legislature and Supreme Court Justice of both Alabama and Texas.^[9]
• James L. Petigru, (1789–1863), born in the Abbeville District, was the attorney general of South Carolina and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was the leader of the anti-nullificationalists in the state house.^[9]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Abbeville County, South Carolina
• Russell Lake

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Abbeville County, South Carolina

• Abbeville County's Official Website
• Abbeville County Development Board
• Greater Abbeville Chamber of Commerce
• Abbeville County Confederate Monument

		Greenville County and Anderson County	Laurens County
	Elbert County, Georgia		Greenwood County
		Abbeville County, South Carolina
			McCormick County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States County seat: Abbeville City Abbeville Towns Calhoun Falls Donalds Due West Honea Path‡ Lowndesville Ware Shoals‡ CDPs Antreville Lake Secession Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e  State of South Carolina Columbia (capital) Regions Atlantic Coastal Plain Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Strand High Hills of Santee Lake Murray Country The Lowcountry Metrolina The Midlands Olde English District Old 96 District Pee Dee Piedmont Sandhills Sea Islands The Upstate Larger cities Charleston Columbia Greenville Myrtle Beach North Charleston Rock Hill Spartanburg Smaller cities Aiken Anderson Beaufort Bennettsville Camden Cayce Easley Florence Forest Acres Gaffney Greenwood Greer Georgetown Goose Creek Hilton Head Island Isle of Palms Laurens, South Carolina Lexington Mauldin North Augusta North Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Simpsonville Summerville Sumter Union Walterboro West Columbia York Towns Abbeville Barnwell Batesburg-Leesville Cheraw Clemson Dillon Darlington Edgefield Fort Mill Fountain Inn Hardeeville Irmo Liberty Moncks Corner Mount Pleasant McCormick Marion Newberry Pendleton Pickens Seneca Sullivan's Island Travelers Rest Walhalla Westminster Williamston CDPs Berea Carolina Forest Dentsville Gantt Ladson Parker Red Hill Saint Andrews Seven Oaks Socastee Taylors Wade Hampton Counties Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York Topics History Famous people Governors Legislature State House Congressional districts Census areas State parks Rivers Wildlife refuges Historic places Amusement parks Colleges and universities Sports venues Shopping malls Television stations Radio stations Highways Airports Visitor attractions

Coordinates: 34°14′N 82°27′W / 34.23°N 82.45°W / 34.23; -82.45