Blakely, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Early County Courthouse in Blakely | |
| Nickname: Peanut Capital of the World | |
 Location inEarly County and the state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:31°22′36″N84°56′2″W / 31.37667°N 84.93389°W /31.37667; -84.93389 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Early |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Travis Wimbush |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.66 sq mi (45.75 km2) |
| • Land | 17.55 sq mi (45.46 km2) |
| • Water | 0.11 sq mi (0.29 km2) |
| Elevation | 262 ft (80 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,371 |
| • Density | 306.02/sq mi (118.15/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39823 |
| Area code | 229 |
| FIPS code | 13-08536[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0331185[3] |
| Website | cityofblakely |
Blakely is a city in and thecounty seat[4] ofEarly County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, its population was 5,371. It is located approximately halfway betweenColumbus andTallahassee, Florida onU.S. Route 27.
Blakely wasplatted in 1825 as the county seat for Early County.[5] It was named forJohnston Blakeley, an officer in theWar of 1812.[6] Between 1881 and 1947 at least seven African-Americans were lynched in Blakely,[7] including at least two veterans. One of these,Wilbur Little, was murdered upon returning from service inWorld War I by whites who detested seeing a black person in uniform.[8] In 1960 an African-American veteran from New Jersey who was traveling through the county was convicted of rape and sentenced to death 3 days after his arrest in a trial that featured no defense counsel and no jury. The story was chronicled in the movieFair Game.A month after the article appeared in the Chicago Defender the NAACP sent Monroe N. Work to Blakely to investigate the incident. On June 7, 1919, Work sent a telegram to NAACP officer J.R. Shillady stating "Have investigated report. Blakely, Georgia, lynching does not appear to have occurred [sic]." Work concluded his investigation by recommending that allegations of a lynching be dropped.[9] However, further review by the organization found that it had in fact occurred.[10][11]
Blakely is located at31°22′36″N84°56′2″W / 31.37667°N 84.93389°W /31.37667; -84.93389 (31.376728, -84.933873).[12] The city is located in southwestern Georgia alongU.S. Route 27,Georgia State Route 62, andGeorgia State Route 39. Blakely is located approximately 75 mi (121 km) south ofColumbus, 48 mi (77 km) southwest ofAlbany, and 76 mi (122 km) northwest ofTallahassee, Florida and 24 miles northeast ofDothan, Alabama.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, this town has a total area of 17.6 square miles (46 km2), of which 17.5 square miles (45 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.74%) is water.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 279 | — | |
| 1890 | 441 | 58.1% | |
| 1900 | 804 | 82.3% | |
| 1910 | 1,838 | 128.6% | |
| 1920 | 1,985 | 8.0% | |
| 1930 | 2,106 | 6.1% | |
| 1940 | 2,774 | 31.7% | |
| 1950 | 3,234 | 16.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,580 | 10.7% | |
| 1970 | 5,267 | 47.1% | |
| 1980 | 5,880 | 11.6% | |
| 1990 | 5,595 | −4.8% | |
| 2000 | 5,696 | 1.8% | |
| 2010 | 5,068 | −11.0% | |
| 2020 | 5,371 | 6.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1850-1870[14] 1870-1880[15] 1890-1910[16] 1920-1930[17] 1940[18] 1950[19] 1960[20] 1970[21] 1980[22] 1990[23] 2000[24] 2010[25] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,444 | 26.89% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,706 | 69.0% |
| Native American | 12 | 0.22% |
| Asian | 32 | 0.6% |
| Other/Mixed | 113 | 2.1% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 64 | 1.19% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 5,371 people, 1,584 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city.
TheEarly County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.[27] The district has 156 full-time teachers and over 2,764 students.[28]
Municipalities and communities ofEarly County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
