Abbeville was founded in 1857 as seat of the newly formed Wilcox County. The town was incorporated in 1883. According to one tradition, the city was named after Abbie McNally, the wife of the original owner of the site, while another tradition states the name is a transfer from Abbeville, South Carolina.
During the Civil War, Confederate president Jefferson Davis camped at Abbeville on May 8, 1865 during his flight through Wilcox County at the end of the war, two nights before his capture by Union forces in Irwinville.
The current Wilcox County Courthouse was built in 1903 and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Georgia Normal College and Business Institute was established in Abbeville in 1897 before moving to Douglas in 1908.