Blakely is a city and the county seat of Early County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 5,068. It is located approximately halfway between Columbus and Tallahassee, Florida on U.S. Route 27. History 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 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, Georgia State Route 62, and Georgia State Route 39. Blakely is located approximately south of Columbus, southwest of Albany, and northwest of Tallahassee, Florida and 24 miles northeast of Dothan, Alabama. According to the United States Census Bureau, 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, there were 5,371 people, 1,584 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. 2000 census As of the census 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, 59.97% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.