History of Abbeville
Abbeville historians told 7NEWS the city became official in 1832, but it was first settled in 1758 by the French.
“That is where it all started. Andrew Pickens was a Revolutionary War General,” Andrew Hartsfield, President of the Abbeville County Historical Society and Owner of Pendleton Farms Market said. “He was originally from Abbeville, France and that’s where Abbeville got its name from.”
Hartsfield said there are many notable buildings in Abbeville.
The Trinity Episcopal Church whose pier was built in one year by an 18-year-old, using no nails, only wooden pegs and the courthouse, just to name a few.
Local historians said the area was booming in the 1900’s, with an Opera House and the Belmont Hotel next door.
“There was a lot going on here,” Hartsfield said. “The hotel was built in 1903 so this whole little area right here there was a lot going on, especially with the Opera House cause you were pulling all the plays in and people traveling.”
Original hardwood floors and the original show curtain aren’t the only things special in the Opera House.
“Another cool feature we have is our trap door on stage and rumor has it that Harry Houdini was here, and he needed that for a trick,” Abbeville Opera House and Events Director, Emily Bledsoe, said. “It is still operational. We actually used it a couple of years ago for our Wizard of Oz performance.”
You guessed it, bragging rights don’t stop there.
“One of the cool things about the theatre is we actually have one of the tallest free-standing brick walls in the state of South Carolina,” Bledsoe said.
City leaders told us the Opera House has over 300 seats with additional private box seats still in use. While some renovations have been made its history has not wavered.
“You get used to it, then seeing other people come in and experience it for the first time you kind of get to relive that magic all over again like seeing it for the first time through their eyes,” Bledsoe said.
Behind the Opera House sits the Dendy House.
“The Dendy house was actually the old arsenal,” Hartsfield said.
Hartsfield said a professor from Clemson University uncovered its history in just the past few years.
Records show the Dendy House was one of three arsenals built in the state during Governor Moultrie’s administration. It stored ammunition until 1836.
Another part of the city’s history that you’ll see as you enter are the brick roads.
“The company that manufactured the brick and that laid all the brick was an African American company and to our records was the first significant black-owned and operated business in Abbeville, probably in Abbeville County,” Hartsfield said.
The city said Abbeville’s rich history makes an impact on everyone who visits and those who call it home.
“I think that’s really special,” Bledsoe said. “There are so many stories.”
In the early 1900s, Abbeville was a common stop for big shows traveling from New York to Atlanta. The Opera House still hosts many shows, comedies and music performances.
The next show coming up at the Opera House is Nunsense on August 3rd, a musical comedy you won’t want to miss.
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