Difference between revisions of "Abbeville, South Carolina" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Lynching== | ==Lynching== | ||
| − | + | After the turn of the century Abbeville was the site of a brutal lynching. In 1916 a crowd of several hundred white people abducted Anthony P. Crawford then strung him up to a tree and then riddled his body with bullets. Crawford was the wealthiest Negro farmer in and around Abbeville and he angered the local whites when he cursed a white man for offering him a low price for the cotton seed he was selling. | |
| − | + | He had built a school on his land for the children of blacks in Abbeville and also held an office with the [[Mason]]s of South Carolina.<ref>Doria Johnson, 1998,[http://ccharity.com/contributors/anthonycrawford.htm The Lynching of Anthony Crawford] ''Ccharity.com.'' Retrieved May 27, 2008.</ref> | |
| − | + | There was a mass exodus right after the lynching and as a result most of Abbeville's black residents moved to Evanston, [[Illinois]]. Many African-Americans living in Evanston today have ties to Abbeville. The exodus included Ralph Ellison, father of the famous author [[Ralph Ellison]]. | |
| − | + | Some 50 years later a reconciliation service was held July 12, 2005, at Friendship Worship Center in Abbeville, S.C. Hundreds gathered for the service, where white church leaders confessed the sins of their ancestors and apologized to blacks for the lynching of Anthony Crawford and other racial strife that took place nearly a century ago.<ref>Ellen Barry, 2005, [http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/2005/07/17/people-gather-to-settle-pain/ Service Atones for Past Racial Strife] ''Donkey.od.wordpress.com.'' Retrieved May 27, 2008.</ref> | |
==2003 Right-of-Way Standoff== | ==2003 Right-of-Way Standoff== | ||
Revision as of 19:43, 27 May 2008
| Abbeville, South Carolina | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:34|10|43|N|82|22|45|W|type:city | |
|---|---|
| name= }} | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Carolina |
| County | Abbeville |
| Area | |
| - Total | 5.9 sq mi (15.2 km²) |
| - Land | 5.9 sq mi (15.2 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 591 ft (180 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 5,840 |
| - Density | 995.2/sq mi (384.3/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 29620 |
| Area code(s) | 864 |
| FIPS code | 45-00100GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1244839GR3 |
For other communities of the same name, see Abbeville (disambiguation).
Abbeville is a city in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States, 86 miles (138 km) west of the state capitol of Columbia. The estimated population, in 2003, was 5,786.[1] It is the county seat of Abbeville County. Abbeville is named after a town in France located in northern France only 20 miles from the Atlantic coastline. Abbeville County, South Carolina sits along the Savannah River separating South Carolina and Georgia.
The noted states rights advocate John C. Calhoun was born just outside Abbeville and began his first law practice in the city. His ideas helped lead to the American Civil War a decade after his death. The city also played a key role during the Civil War and is called the Birthplace and Deathbed of the Confederacy, because it was here that Jefferson Davis made some of his most important decisions as President of the Confederacy.
In January of 2008, First Lady Laura Bush designated Abbeville as a Preserve America Community. This initiative recognizes those communities that demonstrate they are committed to preserving their cultural and natural heritage.[2]
Geography
Abbeville is located at latitude 34.178N and longitude 82.379W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.2 km² (5.9 mi²), all land.
It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 591 feet.
Demographics
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 income for the city was $13,274. About 16.3% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.2% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over.[3]
History
Abbeville was originally settled in 1758 by a group of French Huguenots. The City was officially incorporated as a municipality within the State of South Carolina on December 20, 1832. In 2008, Abbeville will be celebrating its 250th anniversary.
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 could also be considered the place where the Civil War was conceived as noted states rights advocate John C. Calhoun was born near there on March 18, 1782. Calhoun practiced law in the city before beginning his political career. Calhoun became a congressman, senator, secretary of war, secretary of state, and Vice President of the United States. He was an outspoken proponent of the institution of slavery.
At the end of the Civil War, with the Confederacy in shambles, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond, 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.
Lynching
After the turn of the century Abbeville was the site of a brutal lynching. In 1916 a crowd of several hundred white people abducted Anthony P. Crawford then strung him up to a tree and then riddled his body with bullets. Crawford was the wealthiest Negro farmer in and around Abbeville and he angered the local whites when he cursed a white man for offering him a low price for the cotton seed he was selling.
He had built a school on his land for the children of blacks in Abbeville and also held an office with the Masons of South Carolina.[4]
There was a mass exodus right after the lynching and as a result most of Abbeville's black residents moved to Evanston, Illinois. Many African-Americans living in Evanston today have ties to Abbeville. The exodus included Ralph Ellison, father of the famous author Ralph Ellison.
Some 50 years later a reconciliation service was held July 12, 2005, at Friendship Worship Center in Abbeville, S.C. Hundreds gathered for the service, where white church leaders confessed the sins of their ancestors and apologized to blacks for the lynching of Anthony Crawford and other racial strife that took place nearly a century ago.[5]
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 [6]
- 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.[6]
- Benjamin Glover Shields, (1808-1850), born in Abbeville, was a United States Congressman from Alabama. [6]
- 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
Historic Sites
Opera House
At the turn of this century there were many "road companies" producing shows in New York City. Once the production was assembled, the show traveled throughout the country. One of the more popular tours went from New York to Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta. For a number of years, Abbeville was an overnight stop for the entire touring company. Several members of the community decided that if this area had a facility, since the traveling companies were coming through here anyway, Abbeville could sponsor some of these touring productions.
On October 1,1908, what was then the Abbeville District dedicated a new Court House and City Hall. The grand old theatre now known as the Abbeville Opera House was a part of that splendid pair of buildings, "equal in beauty of architecture and modern conveniences of any in the state," according to regional newspaper accounts of the day. Some months later the great stage - 7500 square feet with its wonderful fly loft, cat walk and auditorium - was officially used for its intended purpose. The show was called "The Great Divide" and it was a gala occasion that set the entire area buzzing with excitement.
From that time on, all the "greats and near-greats" played on the magnificent Opera House stage. The Ziegfeld FOLLIES, George White's SCANDALS, Jimmy Durante, Sarah Bernhardt, QUO VADIS, BEN HUR, and many other memorable productions and performers were presented as the big road shows moved down the eastern seaboard. Vaudeville was in its "heyday" as was the Abbeville Opera House.[7]
Burt-Stark Mansion
The Burt-Starke House is significant to Civil War history as it served as the location of President Jefferson Davis’ last Council of War. Despite a number of military surrenders in the preceding months, Davis was determined to continue the struggle for an independent Confederacy. He planned to rally the troops in Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor’s Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, cross the Mississippi, and join with forces there. Davis was steadfast in this resolve when he reached Abbeville and took up quarters at the home of his personal friend, Major Armistead Burt. During the meeting in the southeast parlor with John C. Breckenridge, Braxton Bragg, as well as Generals Duke, Ferguson, Dibrell, and Vaughn, Davis was advised that any attempt to continue the war would inflict more misery on the South, striking the death knell of the Confederate government.
The two-story frame house, built in the 1830s, is Greek Revival in style. The acreage contains an original separate kitchen outbuilding. The gardens were designed in the 1830s by an English landscaper named Johnson. The narrow entrance drive, originally a carriage road, circles before the front steps where a dismount stone still stands. It was listed in the National Register on April 3, 1970 and designated as a National Historic Landmark on October 5, 1992.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Abbeville Community Profile Epodunk.com. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ History, Culture and Local Economy Abbevillecitysc.sc.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ Abbeville, SC Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ Doria Johnson, 1998,The Lynching of Anthony Crawford Ccharity.com. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ Ellen Barry, 2005, Service Atones for Past Racial Strife Donkey.od.wordpress.com. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.
- ↑ Abbeville Opera House Scmovietheatres.com. <Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- ↑ South Carolina Department of Archives and History Nationalregister.sc.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Abbeville County Historical Society. 2004. Abbeville County. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 0738516724
- Ferguson, Lester W. 1993. Abbeville County: southern life-styles lost in time. Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co. ISBN 0871524759
- Ware, Lowry. 1992. Old Abbeville: scenes of the past of a town where old time things are not forgotten. Columbia, S.C.: SCMAR. ISBN 0913363111
External links
- Homepage. City of Abbeville
- Homepage. Abbeville Opera House
- City of Abbeville Information- Abbeville.sc.
- Abbeville Markers- Hmbd.org.
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