Reidsville, Georgia

Reidsville is a city in, and county seat of, Tattnall County, Georgia. The population was 2,515 in 2020. 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, territorial governor of Florida.

Reidsville is home to the Nelson Hotel Bed & Breakfast.

During the events of World War II, 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 32.08389°N, -82.12083°W (32.083970, -82.120697).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 sqmi, of which 7.7 sqmi are land and 0.04 sqmi (0.39%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,515 people, 1,189 households, and 694 families residing in the city.

Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the Reidsville Post Office.

The Georgia Department of Corrections operates the Georgia State Prison in unincorporated Tattnall County, near Reidsville.

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.

Notable people

 * James Kicklighter - film director, attended Reidsville Elementary School and Reidsville Middle School, before graduating from Tattnall County High School.
 * Lena 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 - was an American teacher and politician who was mayor of Keysville, Georgia.
 * Jack Hill (politician) - was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Georgia's 4th District in the Georgia State Senate.