Pulaski, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pulaski, Tennessee
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Town Square in Pulaski
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Location of Pulaski in Giles County, Tennessee.
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| Country | United States | |
| State | Tennessee | |
| County | Giles | |
| Incorporated | 1809 | |
| Named for | Kazimierz Pułaski | |
| Area | ||
| • 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
(2020)
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| • Total | 8,397 | |
| • Density | 1,118.71/sq mi (431.92/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) | |
| ZIP code |
38478
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| Area code(s) | 931 | |
| FIPS code | 47-61040 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 1298659 | |
Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general on the Patriot side in the American Revolutionary War.
Contents
History
Pulaski was founded in 1809.
The vicinity of Pulaski was the site of a number of skirmishes during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the Civil War. In 1863, Confederate courier Sam Davis was hanged in Pulaski by the Union Army on suspicion of espionage.
In 1865, during the early days of the Reconstruction Era, the city became the birthplace of the first Ku Klux Klan (KKK), founded 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 Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K) in Pulaski on December 25, 1865. The Pulaski riot was a race riot that occurred in Pulaski in the summer of 1867.
Martin Methodist College was founded in Pulaski in 1870.
Geography
Pulaski is located in central Giles County at 35°11′45″N 87°2′4″W / 35.19583°N 87.03444°W (35.195786, -87.034328). 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.
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% | |
| 2020 | 8,397 | 6.7% | |
| Sources: | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 5,644 | 67.21% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,828 | 21.77% |
| Native American | 37 | 0.44% |
| Asian | 71 | 0.85% |
| Pacific Islander | 6 | 0.07% |
| Other/Mixed | 557 | 6.63% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 254 | 3.02% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,397 people, 3,189 households, and 1,746 families residing in the city.
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.
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.
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.
Notable people
- Ross Bass, member of the United States Senate from Tennessee
- Keyes Beech, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; born in Pulaski
- Walter Beech, pioneer aviator, founder of Beech Aircraft and Travel Air Manufacturing; born in Pulaski
- Willa Eslick, the first woman to represent Tennessee in the United States Congress
- Bobby Gordon, football player; born in Pulaski
- Moses McKissack III (1879–1952), African American architect, born and raised in Pulaski
- Wayne Peterson, longtime racecar driver and team owner in NASCAR and the ARCA Menards Series
- John Crowe Ransom, winner of National Book Award for poetry (1964); born in Pulaski
- Tyler Smith, basketball player, University of Tennessee; played professionally in Europe
- Tim Turner, racing driver
- Bo Wallace, former University of Mississippi Rebels three-year starting quarterback
- David Wills, country music singer; born in Pulaski
- John Frank Wilson, Civil War officer, Arkansas and Arizona politician; born in Pulaski
- Doug Wolaver, horse trainer who won the Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship three times
In popular culture
The town was mentioned in the 1986 film Platoon by Chris Taylor, a character played by Charlie Sheen.
See also
In Spanish: Pulaski (Tennessee) para niños
