Abbeville County, South Carolina

Abbeville County is a located in the  of. In 2000, its population was 26,167; in 2005, the estimated its population to have reached 26,133  Its  is. It is the first county in the United States alphabetically.

History
Both Abbeville County and the county seat,, get their name from the town of. The county was orignially part of, but was designated Abbeville County in 1785, with parts of the county later going to the creation of the counties of and. Abbeville County was settled by mostly and   in the mid-eighteenth century.
 * There was a historic treaty with the that was signed in Dewitt's Corner, which is now known as.
 * Abbeville County was a hotbed of before the  and was also where the last  council of war was held

Law/Government
Mr. Ray Gunnells is the chairman of the Abbeville County Council, who also represents District 1. The other members and their districts are as following:
 * John Calhoun- District 2
 * Claude Thomas- District 3
 * William Norris- District 4
 * Mike Davis- District 5
 * Jeff Simpson- District 6
 * Bryan McClain- District 7

Geography
The county seat of Abbeville County is. According to the, the county has a total area of 1,324 (511 ). 1,316 km² (508 sq mi) of it is land and 8 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.59%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 26,167 people, 10,131 households, and 7,284 families residing in the county. The was 20/km² (52/sq mi). There were 11,656 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (23/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 68.33%, 30.29% or , 0.10% , 0.23% , 0.03% , 0.31% from , and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.83% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 10,131 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were 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 for the county was $15,370. About 10.10% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education
.

Unified School Districts
All of Abbeville County schools fall into one district where the district superintendent is Dr. Ivan Randolph. The following schools are within the district:
 * Abbeville County Adult Education
 * Abbeville County Career Center(9-12)
 * Calhoun Falls High School(7-12)
 * Cherokee Trail Elementary(K-7)
 * Diamond Hill Elementary(K-7)
 * Dixie High School(8-12)
 * John C. Calhoun Elementary(K-6)
 * Long Cane Elementary(K-5)
 * Westwood Elementary(K-5)
 * Wright Middle School(6-8)
 * Wright Middle School(6-8)

Colleges and Universities

 * , a four-year, with 575 , is located in
 * Piedmont Technical College, in

Notable residents

 * , (1782-1850), born in the Abbeville District, and  from South Carolina,, , and
 * , (1776-1857), born in Abbeville County at Rocky River, banker and United States Congressman from South Carolina
 * , (1804-1864), born in the Abbeville District, physician and United States Congressman from
 * , (1812-1891), born in the Abbeville District, United States Senator from
 * , (1816-1890), born in the Abbeville District, member of the and  of both  and.
 * , (1789-1863), born in the Abbeville District, was the of South Carolina and a member of the .  He was the leader of the anti-nullificationalists in the state house.