A history of Abbeville,
since 1764
Postcards, papers and photographs of Abbeville from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Abbeville was established by French Huguenots in 1764, at a site named by John de la Howe. It was incorporated in 1840.
Famed states' rights advocate and Vice President John C. Calhoun first practiced law in Abbeville, and he was born on a farm on the outskirts in what is now Mt. Carmel.
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Abbeville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewAbbeville - New Court House & Cit…, c. 1908: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Abbeville
See all 24 →
Abbeville, decade by decade
CommonsAbbeville - Court Square (2)c. 1910 · postcard
CommonsAbbeville - Magazine Streetc. 1910 · postcard
LOCAnthony Crawford, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front1910
CommonsAbbenville - South Main Streetc. 1912 · postcard
CommonsAbbeville - Abbeville County Court House and Municipal Buil…c. 1915 · postcard
1990s
10 historic places in Abbeville
Abbeville has 10 listings on the National Register, and they protect 289 historic buildings, because Abbeville Historic District alone counts 257. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.
Where they are
When they were listed
LandmarkListed 1970Armistead Burt House
Listed 1970Abbeville Opera House
Listed 1971Trinity Episcopal Church and Cemetery
Listed 1972Abbeville Historic DistrictListed 1972Abbeville Historic District (Boundary Decrease)
Listed 1981Abbeville County Courthouse
Listed 1983Harbison College President's HomeListed 1984Abbeville Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed 2010Upper Long Cane CemeteryListed 2022Abbeville County Training SchoolThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Community House (1890) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (3) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.