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 Two, 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 which the prisoners worked in.
Geography
Reidsville is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which are land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,235 people, 894 households, and 544 families residing in the city. The population density was 291.1 people per square mile. There were 1,131 housing units at an average density of 147.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 57.58% White, 33.83% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.98% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 for the city was $14,625. About 21.4% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.2% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.
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:
