Pulaski, Tennessee

Pulaski, Tennessee
City
Town Square in Pulaski
Location of Pulaski in Giles County, Tennessee.
Coordinates: 35°11′45″N 87°02′04″W / 35.19583°N 87.03444°W / 35.19583; -87.03444Coordinates: 35°11′45″N 87°02′04″W / 35.19583°N 87.03444°W / 35.19583; -87.03444
Incorporated	1809[1]
Named for	Kazimierz Pułaski
Government
• Mayor	Patrick Ford
Area [2]
• Total	7.51 sq mi (19.44 km2)
• Land	7.51 sq mi (19.44 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	699 ft (213 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	7,870
• Estimate  (2019)[5]	7,597
• Density	1,012.12/sq mi (390.77/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	38478
Area code(s)	931
FIPS code	47-61040[3]
GNIS feature ID	1298659[4]
Website	www.pulaski-tn.com

Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, located on the southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,870 at the 2010 census.^[6] It was named after the Polish-born American Revolutionary War soldier Casimir Pulaski.

During early years of Reconstruction, in late 1865, it was the site of Confederate veterans organizing the first chapter of what became known as the Ku Klux Klan, a secret, white supremacist group. In 1870 Martin Methodist College was founded in Pulaski for white students in the area.

History[]

Pulaski was founded in 1809.

During the American Civil War, the vicinity of Pulaski was the site of a number of skirmishes during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign. Union troops occupied the state from 1862. In 1863, Confederate courier Sam Davis was hanged in Pulaski by the Union Army on suspicion of espionage.

In late 1865, during the early days of the Reconstruction Era, the city was the site of founding the first Ku Klux Klan (KKK) by six Tennessee veterans of the Confederate Army. John C. Lester, John B. Kennedy, James R. Crowe, Frank O. McCord, Richard R. Reed, and J. Calvin Jones established the KKK in Pulaski on December 25, 1865, creating rules for a secret white society.^[7][8]

The white insurgents were determined to maintain and to fight secretly against the political advancement of freedmen and of sympathetic whites. Chapters of the KKK quickly were organized in other parts of the state and the South. KKK members often attacked their victims at night, to increase the intimidation of threats and assaults. Other incidents of racial violence against blacks also took place. The Pulaski riot was a race riot initiated against blacks that occurred in Pulaski in the winter of 1868.

Martin Methodist College was founded in Pulaski in 1870. Martin Methodist College was subsequently merged with the UT System to become the new campus under the University of Tennessee System, known as University of Tennessee Southern in 2021 and it is now a public University.^[9]

Geography[]

Pulaski is located in central Giles County at

35°11′45″N 87°2′4″W / 35.19583°N 87.03444°W / 35.19583; -87.03444 (35.195786, -87.034328).^[10] The downtown area is on the north side of Richland Creek, a south-flowing tributary of the Elk River.

U.S. Route 31 passes through the center of Pulaski as First Street, leading north 30 miles (48 km) to Columbia and southeast 19 miles (31 km) to Ardmore at the Alabama border. U.S. Route 31 Alternate (E. Grigsby Street) leaves U.S. 31 in the north part of Pulaski and heads northeast 23 miles (37 km) to Lewisburg. U.S. Route 64 passes south of Pulaski on a bypass route; it leads east 29 miles (47 km) to Fayetteville and west 18 miles (29 km) to Lawrenceburg.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.7 km²), all land.^[6]

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	1,137		—
1870	2,070		—
1880	2,089		0.9%
1890	2,274		8.9%
1900	2,838		24.8%
1910	2,928		3.2%
1920	2,780		−5.1%
1930	3,367		21.1%
1940	5,314		57.8%
1950	5,762		8.4%
1960	6,616		14.8%
1970	6,989		5.6%
1980	7,184		2.8%
1990	7,895		9.9%
2000	7,871		−0.3%
2010	7,870		0.0%
2019 (est.)	7,597	[5]	−3.5%
Sources:[11][12]

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 7,871 people, 3,455 households, and 2,038 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,200.8 people per square mile (464.0/km²). There were 3,888 housing units at an average density of 593.2 per square mile (229.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.40% White, 27.06% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 3,455 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,459, and the median income for a family was $37,219. Males had a median income of $30,400 versus $21,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,751. About 12.7% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation[]

Airport[]

Abernathy Field is a public-use airport owned by the City of Pulaski and Giles County. It is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Pulaski.^[13]

Media[]

The local newspaper is the Pulaski Citizen.

Education[]

Pulaski is home to two high schools, Giles County High School and Richland High School (Lynnville). Pulaski is also home to Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski (TCAT) and to University of Tennessee Southern.

Sports[]

In 1903, Pulaski was home to the Pulaski Baseball Club, an independent Minor League Baseball team that played in the Tennessee–Alabama League.^[14]

Events[]

The Diana Singing, near Pulaski in Cornersville, is home of the semi-annual Diana Singing, sponsored by the Churches of Christ. The event attracts over 3,000 people to the area in June and September.^[15]

Notable people[]

• Walter Beech (born in Pulaski), pioneer aviator, founder of Beech Aircraft and Travel Air Manufacturing
• Bobby Gordon, football player
• Wayne Peterson, longtime racecar driver and team owner in NASCAR and the ARCA Menards Series
• John Crowe Ransom (born in Pulaski), winner of National Book Award for poetry (1964)
• Tyler Smith, basketball player, University of Tennessee; played professionally in Europe
• Bo Wallace, former University of Mississippi Rebels three-year starting quarterback
• David Wills, country music singer
• John Frank Wilson (born in Pulaski), Civil War officer, Arkansas and Arizona politician
• Doug Wolaver, horse trainer who won the Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship three times

References[]

External links[]

• City of Pulaski official website