Reidsville is a city in, and county seat of, Tattnall County, Georgia. The population was 4,944 at the 2010 census. The Georgia State Prison is near Reidsville.

History

Reidsville was founded in about 1828 and was designated county seat of Tattnall County in 1832 by the Georgia General Assembly. It was incorporated as a town in 1838 and as a city in 1905. The city was named after

Robert R. Reid Robert Raymond Reid (September 8, 1789 – July 1, 1841) was the fourth territorial governor of Florida. Earlier in his career he was a Representative from Georgia and held several judicial positions. Robert Reid was born in Prince William Pari ...

, territorial governor of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. Reidsville is home to the

Nelson Hotel Bed & Breakfast Smith-Nelson Hotel, and also known as the Nelson Hotel and to locals as The Painted Lady, is a historic hotel in Reidsville, Georgia, in Tattnall County. The address of the hotel is 118 South Main Street. It is a two-story building built in 190 ...

. During the events of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Reidsville was the home to at least one, though some reports suggest two, prisoner of war camps for captured Nazi personnel. The prison camp's location has largely been lost to time, but is believed to have stood near the current location of a gas station/self-storage company, near the fringes of the city. Archaeological research into the area has turned up a number of German artifacts, though with the development and addition of a number of houses, it is not clear if this was the location of the camp, or one of the many onion fields in which the prisoners worked.

Geography

Reidsville is located at (32.083970, -82.120697). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (0.39%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 2,515 people, 1,189 households, and 694 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 2,235 people, 894 households, and 544 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,131 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 57.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 33.83%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 6.98% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 8.37% of the population. There were 894 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,901, and the median income for a family was $33,563. Males had a median income of $31,905 versus $20,184 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,625. About 21.4% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 40.2% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

operates the Reidsville Post Office. The

Georgia Department of Corrections The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is an agency of the U.S. state of Georgia operating state prisons. The agency is headquartered in Forsyth, on the former campus of Tift College. Headquarters The GDC has its offices in Gibson Hall, ...

operates the Georgia State Prison in unincorporated Tattnall County, near Reidsville.

Education

Tattnall County School District

The Tattnall County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 201 full-time teachers and over 3,305 students. Schools in Reidsville: *Reidsville Elementary School *North Tattnall Middle School Nearby Tattnall County High School serves the city. File:Reidsville Middle School.jpg, North Tattnall Middle School File:Reidsville Elementary School.jpg, Reidsville Elementary School

Notable people

* James Kicklighter - film director, attended Reidsville Elementary School and Reidsville Middle School, before graduating from Tattnall County High School. *

Lena Baker Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945) was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945. Baker ...

- first and only woman to be executed by the electric chair in Georgia was executed in Georgia State Prison, Reidsville * Linton McGee Collins - jurist *

Emma Gresham Emma Rene (Rhodes) Gresham (April 13, 1925 – March 2, 2018) was an American teacher and politician who was mayor of Keysville, Georgia. Gresham was born in Reidsville, Georgia, to Herman and Ida Clark Rhodes. Gresham graduated from Boggs Acad ...

- was an American teacher and politician who was mayor of

Keysville, Georgia Keysville is a town in Burke and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 300. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Keysville as a town in 1890. Geography Keysville is loc ...

. *

Jack Hill (politician) Jack S. Hill (July 15, 1944 – April 6, 2020) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Georgia's 4th District in the Georgia State Senate. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving Georgia State Se ...

- was an American politician. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he represented Georgia's 4th District in the Georgia State Senate.

References

{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Tattnall County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)