Blakely, Georgia
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Blakely is a city and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Early County, Georgia Early County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,008. The county seat is Blakely, where the Early County Courthouse is located. Created on December 15, 1818, i ...
, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 5,068. It is located approximately halfway between
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
and
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
on
U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...
.


History

Blakely was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
ted in 1825 as the county seat for Early County. It was named for
Johnston Blakeley Johnston Blakeley also spelled Johnston Blakely (October 1781 – October 1814) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France and the War of 1812. He is considered to be one of the most successful American naval offic ...
, an officer in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Between 1881 and 1947 at least seven African-Americans were lynched in Blakely, including at least two veterans. One of these,
Wilbur Little Wilbur "Doc" Little (March 5, 1928 – May 4, 1987) was an American jazz bassist known for playing hard bop and post-bop. Little originally played piano, but switched to double bass after serving in the military. In 1949 he moved to Washington, ...
, was murdered upon returning from service in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
by whites who detested seeing a negro in uniform. 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 movie ''Fair 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 ." Work concluded his investigation by recommending that allegations of a lynching be dropped. However, further review by the organization found that it had in fact occurred.


Geography

Blakely is located at (31.376728, -84.933873). The city is located in southwestern Georgia along
U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...
,
Georgia State Route 62 State Route 62 (SR 62) is a state highway in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects Columbia, Alabama with Albany. Route description SR 62 begins at the Alabama state line, where the highway continues as Ala ...
, and
Georgia State Route 39 State Route 39 (SR 39) is a state highway that travels south-to-north through portions of Seminole, Miller, Early, Clay, Quitman, and Stewart counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route proceeds north from its s ...
. Blakely is located approximately south of
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
, southwest of Albany, and northwest of
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
and 24 miles northeast of
Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, this town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.74%) is water.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 5,371 people, 1,584 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city.


2000 census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 5,696 people, 2,060 households, and 1,413 families residing in this town. The population density was . There were 2,251 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 38.34%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 59.97%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.19% Native American, 0.32%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.12%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.40% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.65% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.54% of the population. There were 2,060 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 29.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.25. In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,250, and the median income for a family was $24,107. Males had a median income of $24,861 versus $16,116 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $12,012,922. About 29.6% of families and 33.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 50.7% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.


Other

The
Peanut Corporation of America Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was a peanut-processing business which is now defunct as a result of one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in U.S. history. PCA was founded in 1977 and initially run by Hugh Parne ...
had a
factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
in Blakely that produced
peanut paste Peanut paste is a product of peanuts used in sauces, cookies, crackers (and other baked goods), breakfast cereals and ice cream. 'Peanut paste' is the main ingredient in some peanut butter recipes. Method Peanut paste is obtained by several metho ...
(which is in turn used by other manufacturers in other foods). FBI and FDA officials said the plant's officials and workers were suspected of spreading
salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...
bacteria in 2007-2009 by knowingly allowing products that had tested positive to be re-tested as negatives (giving a false-negative second result) and then allowing them to be shipped out despite the fact they could have been positive. This likely contributed to numerous illnesses and at least eight deaths. As a result, the FDA and FBI became involved, leading a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation. Several lawsuits were filed by victims' relatives, and a massive nationwide
recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...
of many products took place. The company shut the plant and
laid off A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
all of the plant's roughly 50 employees for the duration of the investigation, which caused economic
hardship , meaning difficulty or trouble, may refer to the following: *hardship clause in contract law *undue hardship in employment law and other areas *extreme hardship Extreme Hardship is a legal term in the United States of America's Immigration Law. ...
for the town during the 2009 recession. The non-profit group Early County 2055 established its headquarters on Court Square in Blakely. Funding for the long-term development plan for the revitalization of the city and county was led by the Charles Rice Family and Foundation. Blakely is the base of the Early County School System, which has a newly renovated football stadium and gymnasium. Blakely also opened a new sportsplex, named in memorial and honor of local coach Ray Knight. It has multiple softball, baseball, and multi-purpose fields, and is operated by the Blakely-Early County Recreation Department.


Education


Early County School District

The
Early County School District The Early County School District is a public school district in Early County, Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United S ...
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 156 full-time teachers and over 2,764 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 8, 2010.
*Early County Elementary School *Early County Middle School *
Early County High School The Early County School District is a public school district in Early County, Georgia, United States, based in Blakely. It serves the communities of Arlington, Blakely, Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto ...


Alternative School

*Learning and Opportunity Academy


Notable people

Wilbur Little Wilbur "Doc" Little (March 5, 1928 – May 4, 1987) was an American jazz bassist known for playing hard bop and post-bop. Little originally played piano, but switched to double bass after serving in the military. In 1949 he moved to Washington, ...
, lynching victim. Kyle Riley: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter/ Boxer, NFC Shawn Williams: Football, University of Georgia, NFL Tay Cody: Football, Florida State University, NFL Kyle Davis: Basketball, Auburn University


References


External links


City of Blakely
Image:BlakelyGA0006.jpg Image:BlakelyGA0002.jpg Image:BlakelyGA0004.jpg Image:BlakelyGA0005.jpg {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Early County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)