Cochran is a city in Bleckley County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,026. The city is the county seat of Bleckley County. Cochran is named for Judge Arthur E. Cochran and was incorporated on March 19, 1869. Judge Cochran was largely instrumental in developing this section of Georgia through his work as president of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, now the Southern Railway (a component of Norfolk Southern Railway). Once known as Dykesboro, Cochran was settled by B. B. Dykes, who owned the site on which the town is built. The earliest settlers located here to work in the turpentine industry. Cochran is home to Bleckley County High School and Middle Georgia State University. Three properties in Cochran are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Bleckley County Courthouse in Courthouse Square, the Cochran Municipal Building and School at the junction of Dykes and Second streets, and Hillcrest at 706 Beech Street. History Cochran, originally known as Dykesboro, was settled in the 1850s by B. B. Dykes. It was renamed Cochran in 1869 after Arthur Cochran, a railroad official who brought the Macon and Brunswick Railroad to town. In 1912, Cochran was designated seat of the newly formed Bleckley County. Government Cochran operates under a Mayor-Council system of government, with the day-to-day business being handled by a city manager. The city manager is Richard Newburn. The Mayor is Billy Yeomans. The Police Chief is Jeff Trawick, and the fire chief is Brock Wilcher. In 2016, at a City Council meeting held on October 11, Mayor Michael Stoy resigned from office, alleging that certain City Council members had participated in an illegal meeting. Since there was more than a year remaining in his term, a special election was held to elect another Mayor. In 2013, the city manager decided to terminate the employment of the police and fire chief, and replace them with a public safety director in order to save money, but rescinded his decision days later amidst public disapproval, and announced the appointment of a task force to look at the budget and advise him on choices. In 2011, Mayor Cliff Avant was charged with felony theft for allegedly donating city-owned PVC pipe to a local church. He admitted the donation and the mistake of not having it declared surplus property by the city council. On the day