Preparation for extensive demolition of several buildings in downtown Reidsville has been underway for several weeks. The demolition is the initial preparation necessary for future construction of a Circle K convenience store. The store will provide motor fuels, EV charging stations, food, and drinks, including Froster drinks, coffee stations, fountain sodas, bakery items, hot meal items, basic household goods, first-aid products, car-care fluids, travel accessories, ATM services, clean public restrooms, and gift card or prepaid card services, including reward services.
In the coming weeks, this writer will attempt to provide a limited history of the downtown Reidsville development and business community from immediate post-World War II to the present time period, along with some information on the development of Tattnall County and the County seat. That endeavor will not include a biased view of the proposed development but rather a more balanced view of the unavoidable issues of downtown renewal and growth while striving to maintain the sense of community history that accumulated in the 20th and early 21st centuries.
That history is checkered at best. One of the great blunders of the 20th Century in Tattnall County politics was the partial demolishing of the Tattnall County Courthouse constructed in 1902-03, which was the most breathtaking example of Second Empire architectural design in South Georgia and perhaps in the State. Angry local citizens blamed politicians, but, in reality, it was a result of a local citizenry too busy to pay attention to immediate current events and understand the consequences of inaction.
We love to blame the politicians, yet they are the ones tasked with making decisions that impact our communities for years to come, and they are forced to assume that responsibility by citizens who prefer to play Monday morning quarterback rather than get involved and provide insight and opinion as how best to effectively deal with the situation.
For better or worse, a considerable part of the historical heart of Reidsville is about to be demolished for the sake of growth and, hopefully, prosperity. The articles in the coming weeks will try to establish at least a partial permanent record of that colorful history of our town. Hopefully, it will provide historical information about who we were and why and it should be remembered. It must be done while those of us who remember are still present.
