Blakely dates to 1825, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #49 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Blakely was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 72 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1828. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blakely’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blakely is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #49 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blakely’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Blakely’s 141 sits above most of its state (75% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 74 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). Two sources give 1825.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Blakely’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Blakely, building by building, 1906–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Blakely was platted in 1825 as the county seat for Early County. It was named for Johnston Blakeley, an officer in the War of 1812. Between 1881 and 1947 at least seven African-Americans were lynched in Blakely, including at least two veterans. One of these, Wilbur Little, was murdered upon returning from service in World War I by whites who detested seeing a black person 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 three 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, Geo…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 279 and 5,880 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blakely’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Blakely’s post office has been open since 1828.
Gone or out of use
Buchanan MilllocaleHolland Hospitalhospital
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blakely
BlakelyWesley Chapel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Blakely’s history
What year was Blakely founded?
In 1825, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Blakely’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1880 counted 279 people here.
How does Blakely rank for history?
Blakely is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #49 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Blakely?
Three places: the Early County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Blakely Court Square Historic District (2002) and the James And Clara Butler House (2002).
How old are the homes in Blakely?
7% of Blakely’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1983.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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