In this locality stood Riddleville Academy, one of four academies in Washington County authorized by the State of Georgia. When Anderson Riddle, a prominent citizen and strong advocate of education, learned that the Washington Baptist Association might establish a high-standing denominational school, he offered three hundred acres of land, and James A. Page offered twenty, to help found it in their community. The trustees of Riddleville Academy then offered to convey all property and buildings to the newly organized Mount Vernon Baptist Association for the same purpose. On February 7, 1859, both the Mount Vernon Baptist Association and the Mount Vernon Institute were organized, and the school remained under the association's supervision until 1891. The town was incorporated in 1859 and named Riddleville in honor of Anderson Riddle by an act of the Georgia Legislature.