The city was named after Samuel Ringgold, a hero of the Battle of Palo Alto in the U.S.-Mexican War.
Ringgold is where the locomotive General stopped during the great locomotive chase on April 12, 1862. Ringgold is also home to the historic Ringgold Depot which still contains bullet marks from the Civil War.
The Battle of Ringgold Gap took place here on November 27, 1863. Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne with 4100 men used the mountain pass known as the "Ringgold Gap" to stall the advance of Union Major General Joesph Hooker's troops over 12,000 stronge. It was a Confederate victory, because it allowed Confederate artillery and wagon trains to move safely through the "Ringgold Gap" unharmed while inflicting high Union casualties.
On March 14, 2002, a sudden heavy fog played havoc with morning traffic and contributed to one of the worst traffic pileups in history; 125 vehicles crashed on Interstate 75 and 4 people died.
The city also gained some notoriety for erecting a display that included the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and a third blank frame. The stated purpose of the third frame was to include alternate beliefs, but the city agreed to remove the display as part of a settlement of complaints.
Entertainer Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, is from Ringgold, and the couple was married at the Ringgold First Baptist Church in 1966. George Jones and Tammy Wynette were also married in Ringgold. The city has traditionally been a "marriage center" because of the short waiting time after blood tests; one testing laboratory in the community offers a combination test/wedding package and sells clocks with the inscription "I got married in Ringgold, Ga."
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,422 people, 1,033 households, and 644 families residing in the city. The population density was 617.0 people per square mile (237.9/km²). There were 1,116 housing units at an average density of 284.3/sq mi (109.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.33% White, 6.32% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.58% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.
There were 1,033 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,834, and the median income for a family was $35,132. Males had a median income of $26,943 versus $21,074 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,612. About 14.5% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.