Abbeville, Alabama

The coordinates for Abbeville are: 31°33′59″N 85°15′5″W (31.566367, -85.251300)[4]. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the size of the city is 15.6 square miles (40 km²). This includes 15.6 square miles (40 km²) of land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of water.

Abbeville was a colonial town. It is the oldest still standing colonial settlement in eastern Alabama. It's older than Henry County and the State of Alabama. The city was named after a Muscogee Indian man named "Abbe." He was a Native American who lived nearby when the city was started. The name means "a grove of dogwood trees."

In 1819, there was a trading post in Abbeville. (A trading post is a small settlement that has been set up for trading. Trading posts are usually located in remote places.) At this time, the area was part of Alabama Territory.

In 1944, there was a famous civil rights event that happened in Abbeville. An African-American woman was gang-raped by six white men. The men told the police that they had raped her. Two grand juries decided not to take them to court. Because of this, the men were never punished. This event was written about in the book At the Dark End of the Street.[5][6]

By 1950, there were 2,162 people living in Abbeville.[7]

In 2000, there were 2,987 people living in Abbeville. These people lived in 1,172 households and made up 787 families.[8] The population density was about 192 people per square mile (74.1 people/km²). The city was 56.65% white, 39.94% black or African-American, 0.07% Asian, 2.85% other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 3.52% of the people said they were Hispanic or Latino.

In 2010, Abbeville has 2,688 people living there. It was 53.7% white, 41.4% black or African-American, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 1.2% mixed race, and 3.1% Hispanic or Latino.[3]