Blackshear, Georgia

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Blackshear census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31516. It stands on Baxter Branch. The Survey maps it on the Blackshear East quadrangle. 3,506 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 112 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Blackshear within Pierce County

On record in Blackshear

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Blackshear grew from 3,445 to 3,506 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	3,445
2020	3,506	+61 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1953 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1958 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1971 USGS Blackshear East quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1978 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:100000
1988 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000

Fires near this place

468 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 468 fires within 5 miles of Blackshear between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,242 acres in total. 31 started naturally. 78 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	269
Arson/incendiarism	78
Natural	31
Railroad operations and maintenance	25
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	24
Misuse of fire by a minor	14
Equipment and vehicle use	14
Recreation and ceremony	7
Smoking	6

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-021
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-020
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-019
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-017
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-018
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-016
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-015
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2003-PIERCE-014

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pierce County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Blackshear: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Crawford Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Pierce County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blackshear in 70 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 41 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 4 tornado, 3 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 2010	Lightning	Blackshear	$100,000	Lightning directly hit the Pierce County Emergency Operations Tower. The strike traveled down the tower and severely damage the center's control box for the tower, its server, radio for both the county EMS and Pierce County jail as well as radios for dispatch stations and telephone lines. The strike also destroyed lightning arrestors which were designed to alleviate impacts from lightning stirkes.
October 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds collapsed a tractor shelter and caused numerous large trees to uproot along Georgia Highway 203. A couple of homes suffered structural damage from fallen trees.
January 1999	Tornado (F0)	Blackshear	$35,000	Seven residents with minor roof damage, church steeple damaged and a roof was blown off a silo.
December 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$10,000	Trees and power lines blown down in Blackshear and Patterson.
October 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$10,000	Large trees down on houses. Highway 84 closed due to downed trees.
July 2000	Tornado (F0)	Blackshear	$5,500	Weak FO. Damages a shed and chicken-house.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$5,000	Several large trees and power lines were downed by thunder- storm winds.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$5,000	Several large trees were downed by thunderstorm winds along Georgia Highway 15.
January 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$4,500	A three block area had large trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$4,000	The EM reported power lines down \| and roof damage to building located along \| West Carter Ave and Gordon Street near \| Downtown Blackshear Georgia. The time of damage was based \| off Radar. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated for inclusion of the event in Storm Data.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$3,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$2,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$2,000	Several trees were blown down near Old Alma Road and West Horshoe Road. The time of damage was based on radar. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated for inclusion in Storm Data.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$2,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down in Blackshear. The cost of debris removal was estimated.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$1,500	Large trees were blown down.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$1,500	Large trees were blown down.
April 2015	Lightning	Blackshear	$1,000	Lightning damaged a transformer off of College Avenue. The cost of damage was estimated for the event to be included in Storm Data.
June 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$800	Large trees were blown down.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$500	Trees blown down along SR-203.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$500	Large trees were blown down.
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$500	no account filed
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	$100	Large tree limbs were blown down along Hobbs Street. The time of damage was based on radar. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated for the inclusion of the event in Storm Data.
August 2025	Heavy Rain	Blackshear	-	HADS station ABAG1Alabaha River measured 2.36 inches of rainfall in the past hour.
January 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	A carport was blown off. The time of damage was based on radar.
September 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	A powerline pole was blown down at the corner of Nichols Street and Brantley Street.
September 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Significant roof damage occurred due to winds at 330 Main Street.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Trees were blown down in Blackshear, extending toward Waycross.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Power lines were down due to thunderstorm winds near old hoboken road and cardinal drive off of state route 121. Time was estimated by radar.
April 2020	Hail	Blackshear	-	Quarter size hail was observed in Blackshear. The time of the event was based on radar.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	A tree was blown down and power lines were blown down on Cason Road.
February 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 203 north of Blackshear.
February 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Numerous trees were blown down in Bristol, Patterson & Blackshear. A power line was also blown down.
March 2018	Hail	Blackshear	-	Widespread egg sized hail was reported near Blackshear.
December 2018	Flash Flood	Blackshear	-	At 1106 pm on 12/3, Pierce county law enforcement reported a dam failure was imminent along the Lakeview Country Club Lake. Property threatened from flooding included homes along Edgewood Circle, Lakeview Drive, Fox Trail and Azalea Street along the Baxter/Bernie Branch drainage from the lake. The Department of Transportation closed Highway 121 south of Blackshear due to flood water over the bridge just south of Azalea Street from the Baxter/Bernie branch drainage. At 448 am on 12/4, law enforcement reported that the lake fell about 5 ft (40 acre lake). The Baxter/Bernie branch drainage rose about 8-12 inches in the past 5 hours. No reports of flooding into structures. Dam erosion was still ongoing at the time of the last report.
January 2017	Hail	Blackshear	-	Penny size hail was observed.
June 2017	Heavy Rain	Blackshear	-	The USGS rain gauge at the Alabaha River site recorded a daily rainfall total of 2.02 inches as of 5 pm local time.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Trees were blown down in Blackshear. One tree was blown down along County Road 121 North.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Widespread tree damage occurred in Blackshear.
April 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Multiple reports of trees across the county were relayed to the NWS. The location of damage was based on radar imagery.
June 2010	Hail	Blackshear	-	A spotter reported penny size hail on Highway 84 just outside of the Blackshear city limits.
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	The Emergency Manager surveyed the damage and reported several trees down and power poles snapped near Jenkins Street and College Street.
April 2009	Hail	Blackshear	-	The Emergency Manager reported penny sized hail in Blackshear.
April 2009	Flood	Blackshear	-	A local TV meteorologist and amateur radio operator both reported heavy rain in Blackshear with a number of roads closed due to high water.
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	A storm spotter reported 60 to 70 mph winds and dime size hail in Blackshear. Additionally the possibility of tornado was reported but no confirmation could be made.
May 2008	Funnel Cloud	Blackshear	-	A citizen reported a funnel cloud 1 mile east of Blackshear.
May 2008	Lightning	Blackshear	-	Pierce County Fire-Rescue reported a lightning strike caused a brush fire off of Satilla Road. Georgia Forestry crews were dispatched and the blaze was contained.
December 2008	Tornado (EF0)	Blackshear	-	The tornado touched down near 1421 College Avenue destroying a vinyl storage shed. A more substantial wood shed next to it was undamaged and no significant damage to vegetation was observed in this vicinity. In this area the event was a low level EF-0 event with winds estimated near 65 mph. The system next moved over Burney Branch Lake which allowed the circulation to intensify with winds now closer to an upper end EF-0 and estimated to be near 85 mph. The tornado made landfall near 1101 Lakeview Drive where several trees were snapped. The funnel moved over several lakeside homes and their backyards in this area. A vinyl fence was blown down and a wooden childs backyard play set was uprooted and overturned. At the northeastern edge of the lake the most substantial damage occurred when the roof of a dock was ripped off and blown onto the roof of a home at 919 Edgewood Circle. The homes roof was destroyed opening the contents to the weather.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Power lines were blown down and caused power outages in Blackshear. The 911 Center reported strong winds across the county with frequent lightning strikes.
February 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	Large live oak and pine trees uprooted and down across power lines along Highway 82 north of Blackshear.
May 2002	Hail	Blackshear	-	West side of Blackshear and in Patterson.
June 2000	Tornado (F0)	Blackshear	-	No damage.
September 2023	Hail	Blackshear	-	no account filed
May 2006	Hail	Blackshear	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	no account filed
May 2006	Hail	Blackshear	-	no account filed
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	no account filed
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Blackshear	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pierce County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Homestead	2.8 miles	8
Youman	3.2 miles	8
Owen	3.8 miles	8
Otter Creek	5.8 miles	8
Walkersville	6.3 miles	7
Patterson	7.8 miles	7
Aspinwall	9.6 miles	7
Offerman	9.9 miles	8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Blackshear	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q670594	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 331178. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.