Crisp County Georgia map | Cordele and Lake Blackshear

The Crisp County Georgia map locates a compact south Georgia county whose geography is organized around Cordele, Arabi, major transport corridors, farmland, and the Lake Blackshear shoreline. Reading those elements together gives the boundary more meaning than a simple county silhouette: Cordele anchors the middle, Arabi sits to the south, and the Flint River reservoir defines much of the western side.

Treat the image as an orientation map. It is not a parcel survey, municipal-limit plat, flood-hazard layer, or turn-by-turn road guide, and it omits many rural communities and local roads that would clutter a small county reference graphic.

Quick Facts

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 20,128 residents in 2020 and estimated 19,237 residents on July 1, 2025. The latter is 4.4 percent below the 2020 estimates base, so population figures copied from older profiles should always be labeled by year and by whether they are a census count or an estimate.

Density was 73.8 people per square mile in 2020. Settlement is not spread evenly across those 272.68 land square miles: Cordele contains the principal urban concentration, the lakefront supports a separate residential and recreation corridor, and broad agricultural tracts occupy much of the remainder.

What the Map Shows

Start with Cordele near the middle of the county. It is both the seat of government and the main commercial center, but its map significance also comes from the convergence of north–south highways, an east–west federal route, and multiple rail lines.

Arabi is the smaller incorporated city south of Cordele. That two-place sequence is a practical guide to the county’s central spine. Hatley, Raines, and Wenona are recognized unincorporated communities in local historical sources, though they are outside the label set used for this image.

The outer line represents the county at a general reference scale. It should not be read as a city-limit boundary, ownership line, or precise shoreline trace. Small bends around Lake Blackshear and fine road geometry may be simplified at this size.

County Layout and Location

Crisp County lies in inland south Georgia and adjoins Dooly, Wilcox, Turner, Worth, Lee, and Sumter counties. Those neighbors establish compass context, while the map itself remains focused on places and corridors inside Crisp County.

Interstate 75 runs north–south along the eastern side of Cordele. The county’s joint comprehensive plan identifies the Exit 92 area near the city’s eastern limits as an interstate gateway, a useful distinction between the historic center and the commercial landscape encountered by highway travelers.

U.S. 41 forms an older north–south axis, while U.S. 280 crosses through Cordele in the east–west direction. Local planning history describes U.S. 41 as the first paved route connecting north and south Georgia; together with the railroad junction, it gave Cordele an early transportation advantage.

Lake Blackshear occupies much of the western edge along the impounded Flint River. The comprehensive plan treats this shore as a distinct “Lakeside” character area because winding roads, residential frontage, parks, and recreation facilities contrast with the agricultural and forest land farther inland.

A useful mental model is therefore four-part: the Cordele transport hub, the southern route toward Arabi, the western lake corridor, and the rural interior between them. Even without a dense road layer, the map labels provide anchor points for that structure.

Local Context

Georgia created Crisp County from southern Dooly County in 1905, making it the state’s 138th county. Its namesake was Charles Crisp, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1894, and Cordele was selected as the county seat.

Both Cordele and Arabi emerged during the railroad expansion of the late nineteenth century. Cordele’s position at several rail junctions earned it the “Hub City” nickname, and the modern overlap of rail, I-75, U.S. 41, and U.S. 280 continues that transport-centered geography.

The Georgia Ports Authority describes the Cordele Inland Port as a rail-connected facility serving cargo owners in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Cotton, clay, lumber, and other agribusiness exports have moved through the terminal, linking an inland farming region to the Port of Savannah network.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture recorded 176 farms covering 121,261 acres. Farms sold about $91.0 million in products, with crops accounting for 84 percent of sales. Cotton occupied 47,238 acres and peanuts 12,744 acres, evidence that the county’s farm landscape extends well beyond Cordele’s familiar watermelon branding.

Lake Blackshear is a reservoir rather than a natural lake. The Crisp County Power Commission completed the Flint River dam and began generating electricity in August 1930. The commission reports roughly 8,700 acres of water, 97 miles of shoreline, an average depth of 11 feet, and a normal full-pool elevation of 237 feet above mean sea level.

The lake also records a distinctive public-power story. County voters established the Power Commission through a 1925 state constitutional amendment; after generation began, the commission built distribution lines into rural areas that previously lacked electric service.

Georgia Veterans State Park occupies a prominent lakefront tract west of Cordele. State records date the park to 1946, and its water-oriented setting, military exhibits, and SAM Shortline excursion service create a destination corridor separate from downtown and the interstate exits.

Ways to Use This Map

• Mark Cordele as the central anchor and Arabi as the southern municipal point
• Explain how the I-75 north–south corridor intersects the U.S. 280 east–west corridor
• Compare lakefront land use on the west with agricultural land in the interior
• Connect railroad history, farm production, and the modern inland-port function
• Check county jurisdiction before beginning genealogy, property, or local-history research

For a classroom exercise, draw one line from Cordele south to Arabi and another from Cordele west to Lake Blackshear. The first captures the municipal sequence; the second contrasts the government and transport center with the reservoir-oriented landscape.

For travel preparation, pair this county reference with current Georgia road information and the official access guidance for the park or lake facility you intend to visit. Reservoir levels, boat ramps, private property, and construction detours require operational sources rather than a static image.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all communities in Crisp County labeled?

No. The label set emphasizes Cordele and Arabi. Unincorporated places such as Hatley, Raines, and Wenona, as well as individual lakefront neighborhoods, need a more detailed local map or address source.

Is Lake Blackshear a natural lake?

No. It formed when Crisp County’s hydroelectric dam impounded the Flint River in 1930. That origin explains both the elongated shoreline along the county’s west side and the lake’s continuing connection to public-power management.

Why does the page preview differ from the download format?

The page serves a bandwidth-efficient WEBP preview, while the button supplies a broadly compatible JPG. The download is a raster reference image, not GIS vector data or a surveyed boundary file.

Sources

Population and area figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau; farm figures come from USDA’s 2022 county profile. Georgia planning documents and local public-agency records were used for transportation, land-use, reservoir, and historical context. Dates are retained because the underlying datasets describe different reference years.

• U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
• USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture county profile
• New Georgia Encyclopedia county profile
• Georgia Department of Community Affairs comprehensive plan
• Crisp County Power Commission Lake Blackshear information
• Georgia State Parks history

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