Abbeville

History

Abbeville was founded in 1857 as seat of the newly formed Wilcox County. The town was incorporated in 1883. According to one tradition, the city was named after Abbie McNally, the wife of the original owner of the site, while another tradition states the name is a transfer from Abbeville, South Carolina.

During the Civil War, Confederate president Jefferson Davis camped at Abbeville on May 8, 1865 during his flight through Wilcox County at the end of the war, two nights before his capture by Union forces in Irwinville. The captured secretary was Francis R. Lubbock, a former governor of Texas, along with Confederate postmaster John H. Reagan, the last treasurer.

The current Wilcox County Courthouse was built in 1903 and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Georgia Normal College and Business Institute was established in Abbeville in 1897 before moving to Douglas in 1908.

In 1910 Abbeville had a population of 1,201. In 1950 it had a population of 890.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2), of which 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.65%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Abbeville had a population of 2,685. The median age was 40.7 years. 7.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 412.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 496.6 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 374 households in Abbeville, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.4% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 438 housing units, of which 14.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%.

Arts and culture

The Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival is held annually in May.

Education

Public education is administered by the Wilcox County School District .