Tattnall County Courthouse
 

Photo: Keith Hair

Location: Reidsville

Date Built: 1902

Architectural Style: Second Empire influence

Designer: J.W. Golucke

Other Information: When created in 1801, Tattnall County had no towns, so the legislature provided that county business be conducted at the home of Zacharia Cox, whose home was located on the western boundary of the new county. In 1828, the General Assembly appointed a committee to select a central site in the county for location of a courthouse. In 1832, a U.S. post office opened in the small Tattnall community of Reidsville, and that year the legislature designated the community as county seat. The third building used as a courthouse was built in 1857 (see sketch). The current courthouse was built in 1902 (see photo soon after completion). It was remodeled in 1915 and again in the 1960s, at which time the tower and mansard roof were removed (see photos before and during renovation) . The courthouse was renovated again in 1991.

County Courthouse Historical Marker: Click here

County History: Tattnall County was created from Montgomery County on Dec. 5, 1801 by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1801, p. 88). Later, parts of Tattnall County were used to help create Toombs County (1905) and Candler and Evans counties (1914).

Georgia's 25th county was named for Josiah Tattnall, Jr., who played a prominent role in repealing the infamous Yazoo Act. In 1796, the General Assembly elected Tattnall to fill the term of U.S. senator James Jackson. At the end of that term in 1799, Tattnall returned to private life. However, on Nov. 7, 1801, the General Assembly elected him governor and immediately named a new county after him.

County Seat: Reidsville [named for Augusta superior court judge Robert Reid; designated county seat in 1832; incorporated Dec. 31, 1838].

Maps

• Historical Maps of Tattnall County
• Georgia DOT Map of Tattnall County, pdf (771K)

Size of County (Total Area): 488.3 square miles

County Rank in Total Area: 33rd out of 159

Population:

Tattnall County

• 22,305 (2000)
• Tattnall County Historical Population Profile

City of Reidsville

• 2235 (2000)