[7][8] Abbeville was established by French Huguenots in 1764,[6] at a site named by John de la Howe.

[7] 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[6] in what is now Mt.

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.

This siege has been compared by both sympathizers of the Bixbys and law enforcement agents to the events of Waco and Ruby Ridge.

[12] In February 2007, Steven Bixby was convicted on 17 counts including the two murders, as well as lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy.

[citation needed] The Abbeville County Courthouse, Abbeville Historic District, Abbeville Opera House, Armistead Burt House, Patrick Calhoun Family Cemetery, Cedar Springs Historic District, Harbison College President's Home, Trinity Episcopal Church and Cemetery and Upper Long Cane Cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[13][14] Abbeville is also the location of the tallest building in South Carolina, the Prysmian Copper Wire Tower.

[17][failed verification] In the winter highs are in the low- to mid-50s and lows are right around freezing, seldom dropping below 25 °F (−3.9 °C).

Afternoon thunderstorms are a common occurrence in the summer months and can bring heavy winds and lightning.

No fatalities were recorded, but the majority of the city lost power and many buildings sustained significant damage.

After the North American Free Trade Agreement clothing is no longer made in Abbeville.

Gypsy consists of pound or sponge cake, boiled custard, sherry, whipping cream, and almonds.

There is a mention of Gispy cake in 1831 edition William Kitchiner's The Cook's Oracle, which may have been a prototype for the Abbeville Gypsy.

[27] A local legend tells a story of an unknown woman serving Gypsy to Confederate President Jefferson Davis at the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Theresa C. Brown included a recipe for Gipsy cake in the Creams chapter of her Modern Domestic Cookery (1871).