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.[5] The city was named after Robert R. Reid, territorial governor of Florida.[6]
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.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles (20 km2), of which 7.7 square miles (20 km2) are land and 0.04-square-mile (0.10 km2) (0.39%) is water.
The Tattnall County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school.[12] The district has 201 full-time teachers and over 3,305 students.[13]
James Kicklighter - film director, attended Reidsville Elementary School and Reidsville Middle School, before graduating from Tattnall County High School.[14][15]
Lena Baker - first and only woman to be executed by the electric chair in Georgia was executed in Georgia State Prison, Reidsville
