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 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. The white insurgents were determined to maintain white supremacy and to fight secretly against the political advancement of freedmen and of sympathetic whites. Chapter 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 by whites against blacks that occurred in Pulaski in the winter of 1868. Martin Methodist College was founded in Pulaski in 1870.
Geography
Pulaski is located in central Giles County at . 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 to Columbia and southeast to Ardmore at the Alabama border. U.S. Route 31 Alternate leaves U.S. 31 in the north part of Pulaski and heads northeast to Lewisburg. U.S. Route 64 passes south of Pulaski on a bypass route; it leads east to Fayetteville and west to Lawrenceburg. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
As of the census 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. There were 3,888 housing units at an average density of 593.2 per square mile. 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.
Pulaski is home to two high schools, Giles County High School and Richland High School. Pulaski is also home to Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski and to Martin Methodist College.
Pulaski is home of the semi-annual Diana Singing, sponsored by the Churches of Christ. The event attracts over 3,000 people to the town in June and September.
