| Official Name: | Blackshear, Georgia |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Georgia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pierce |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Keith Brooks |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 13.32 |
| Area Land Km2: | 13.12 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.20 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 5.14 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 5.07 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.08 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 3506 |
| Population Density Km2: | 267.20 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 692.06 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 31.2989°N -82.2478°W |
| Elevation M: | 34 |
| Elevation Ft: | 112 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 31516 |
| Area Code: | 912 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 13-08284[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0331178[3] |
The city of Blackshear is the county seat[4] of Pierce County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,506.
Blackshear is part of the Waycross Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Blackshear is located at 31.2989°N -82.2478°W (31.298941, -82.247726).[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4sqmi, of which 4.3sqmi is land and 0.1sqmi (2.06%) is water.
Blackshear was founded in 1858 to serve as the seat of the newly formed Pierce County.[6] The city was named after General David Blackshear,[7] who authorized the construction of roads, bridges and 11 forts for defense. He was a patriot in the American Revolution, fighting in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and the Battle of Buford's Bridge. He served as a general during the War of 1812. He also served in the Georgia state legislature as Senator of Laurens County.
During the American Civil War, the city became a temporary prisoner-of-war camp for more than 5,000 Union prisoners.[8] This site is marked by a historical landmark sign.
The primary crop of this south Georgia community was once tobacco, and it is where the first brick tobacco warehouse in Georgia was built, known as the Brantley Brick.
| White (non-Hispanic) | 2,552 | 72.79% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 696 | 19.85% | |
| Native American | 5 | 0.14% | |
| Asian | 24 | 0.68% | |
| Other/Mixed | 138 | 3.94% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 91 | 2.6% |
The Pierce County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.[10] The district has 216 full-time teachers and over 3,240 students. Four schools in the district are located in Blackshear.[11]