Pulaski, Tennessee

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.[6] It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general on the Patriot side in the American Revolutionary War.

Pulaski, Tennessee
City
Town Square in Pulaski
Town Square in Pulaski
Official seal of Pulaski, Tennessee
Seal
Location of Pulaski in Giles County, Tennessee.
Location of Pulaski in Giles County, Tennessee.
Coordinates: 35°11′45″N 87°02′04″W
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountyGiles
Incorporated1809[1]
Named forKazimierz Pułaski
Government
 • MayorJ.J. Brindley
Area
[2]
 • Total7.51 sq mi (19.44 km2)
 • Land7.51 sq mi (19.44 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
699 ft (213 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total8,397
 • Density1,118.71/sq mi (431.92/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
38478
Area code931
FIPS code47-61040[4]
GNIS feature ID1298659[5]
Websitewww.pulaski-tn.com

History

Pulaski was founded in 1809.

During the Civil War, after the Union took control of Tennessee in 1862, thousands of African Americans left plantations and farms to join their lines for refuge. The Army set up a contraband camp in Pulaski to help house the freedmen and their families, feed them, and put them to work. In addition, education classes were started. The vicinity of Pulaski was the site of a number of skirmishes during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign. Union troops occupied the state from 1862, and hundreds of African Americans left plantations even before the Emancipation Proclamation to join their lines.

In 1863, Confederate courier Sam Davis was hanged in Pulaski by the Union Army on suspicion of espionage.

After the war, in late 1865, six Tennessee veterans of the Confederate Army founded a secret society, later known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). This was the first chapter. These men: John C. Lester, John B. Kennedy, James R. Crowe, Frank O. McCord, Richard R. Reed, and J. Calvin Jones established the KKK on December 25, 1865. They created rules for a secret, hierarchical society devoted to suppressing freedmen and their white allies, and maintaining white supremacy.[7][8]

The white insurgents were determined 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 took place in the city in the winter of 1868, following a heated election season.

Martin Methodist College was founded in Pulaski in 1870 as a private college for white students. Martin Methodist College was merged with the UT System in 2021 to become the new campus under the University of Tennessee System. It is now known as University of Tennessee Southern and is a public university.[9]

Geography

Pulaski is located in central Giles County at 35°11′45″N 87°2′4″W (35.195786, -87.034328).[10] The downtown area is on the north side of Richland Creek, a southward-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]

Climate
Climate data for Pulaski, Tennessee (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1957–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 76
(24)		 83
(28)		 86
(30)		 91
(33)		 96
(36)		 106
(41)		 105
(41)		 104
(40)		 100
(38)		 95
(35)		 86
(30)		 78
(26)		 106
(41)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 67.8
(19.9)		 71.4
(21.9)		 78.4
(25.8)		 83.1
(28.4)		 88.0
(31.1)		 92.8
(33.8)		 95.0
(35.0)		 94.7
(34.8)		 92.2
(33.4)		 85.4
(29.7)		 76.9
(24.9)		 67.9
(19.9)		 96.7
(35.9)
Average high °F (°C) 48.2
(9.0)		 52.5
(11.4)		 61.2
(16.2)		 70.9
(21.6)		 78.0
(25.6)		 84.9
(29.4)		 88.1
(31.2)		 87.8
(31.0)		 83.0
(28.3)		 72.5
(22.5)		 60.8
(16.0)		 51.3
(10.7)		 69.9
(21.1)
Daily mean °F (°C) 36.8
(2.7)		 40.3
(4.6)		 48.2
(9.0)		 57.1
(13.9)		 65.3
(18.5)		 73.2
(22.9)		 76.8
(24.9)		 75.8
(24.3)		 69.7
(20.9)		 58.2
(14.6)		 47.0
(8.3)		 39.7
(4.3)		 57.3
(14.1)
Average low °F (°C) 25.4
(−3.7)		 28.1
(−2.2)		 35.2
(1.8)		 43.3
(6.3)		 52.6
(11.4)		 61.4
(16.3)		 65.5
(18.6)		 63.8
(17.7)		 56.4
(13.6)		 43.9
(6.6)		 33.2
(0.7)		 28.2
(−2.1)		 44.8
(7.1)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 9.6
(−12.4)		 14.3
(−9.8)		 21.1
(−6.1)		 29.5
(−1.4)		 39.7
(4.3)		 52.0
(11.1)		 58.6
(14.8)		 56.2
(13.4)		 43.9
(6.6)		 30.1
(−1.1)		 20.6
(−6.3)		 15.3
(−9.3)		 6.8
(−14.0)
Record low °F (°C) −16
(−27)		 −6
(−21)		 3
(−16)		 22
(−6)		 30
(−1)		 39
(4)		 49
(9)		 50
(10)		 32
(0)		 22
(−6)		 10
(−12)		 −8
(−22)		 −16
(−27)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 5.29
(134)		 5.66
(144)		 5.48
(139)		 5.13
(130)		 4.57
(116)		 4.78
(121)		 4.83
(123)		 4.37
(111)		 4.12
(105)		 3.81
(97)		 4.26
(108)		 6.28
(160)		 58.58
(1,488)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.0
(2.5)		 0.4
(1.0)		 0.3
(0.76)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.2
(0.51)		 1.9
(4.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 10.8 11.1 11.6 10.5 10.6 10.6 10.1 9.1 7.2 7.9 9.1 11.7 120.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.4
Source: NOAA[11][12]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18501,137—
18702,070—
18802,0890.9%
18902,2748.9%
19002,83824.8%
19102,9283.2%
19202,780−5.1%
19303,36721.1%
19405,31457.8%
19505,7628.4%
19606,61614.8%
19706,9895.6%
19807,1842.8%
19907,8959.9%
20007,871−0.3%
20107,8700.0%
20208,3976.7%
Sources:[13][14][3]

2020 census
Pulaski racial composition[15]
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.

2000 census

As of the census[4] 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 inhabitants per square mile (463.6/km2). There were 3,888 housing units at an average density of 593.2 per square mile (229.0/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, May 2014. ICAO Code: KGZS

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.[16]

Media

The local newspaper is the Pulaski Citizen.

Education
University of Tennessee Southern, May 2014

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.[17]

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.[18]

Notable people

The town was mentioned in the 1986 film Platoon by Chris Taylor, a character played by Charlie Sheen.[21]

References
  1. Tennessee Blue Book, 2005-2006, pp. 618-625.
  2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pulaski city, Tennessee". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  7. Horn, Stanley F. (1939). Invisible Empire: The Story of the Ku Klux Klan, 1866–1871. Montclair, New Jersey: Patterson Smith Publishing Corporation. p. 9.
  8. Fleming, Walter J., Ku Klux Klan: Its Origins, Growth and Disbandment, p. 27, 1905, Neale Publishing.
  9. Kast, Monica. "University of Tennessee adds fifth campus with Martin Methodist College merger". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  11. "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  12. "Station: Pulaski WWTP, TN". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  13. "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  14. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  15. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  16. FAA Airport Form 5010 for GZS PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 3 June 2010.
  17. "Pulaski, Tennessee Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  18. 2023 Singings
  19. Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 386–389. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
  20. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: McKissack and McKissack Buildings in Nashville (1908-1930) Thematic Resources" (PDF). National Park Service (1985). November 21, 1984. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012.
  21. "Platoon Quotes". www.quotes.net. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
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