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A−History
History · Pulaski

Pulaski’s post office opened in 1853, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.

1853first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pulaski’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pulaski began

When was Pulaski founded?

1853

The Pulaski post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,501 in 18802020 census: 2,186173 years

How historic is Pulaski?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pulaski post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pulaski’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pulaski is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pulaski’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.6% of homes (±6.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 37 historic buildings, 172 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pulaski’s 172 sits above most of its state (81% of New York towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Pulaski’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1925, drew every building in Pulaski.Old housesHalf of Pulaski’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pulaski’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pulaski’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPulaski bird's eye: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Pulaski, building by building, 1885–1925

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pulaski fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pulaski came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pulaski.

Read it all →

Pulaski history shows that during the early years before incorporation on April 26, 1832, the village was known by various other names. It was once called “Fishville” and sometimes it was called “Salmon River”. It was also stated that the name “Pulaski” was often spelled “Polaski”. It was also used for years with the spelling of Polaski from The Palladium Times to official state documents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pulaski in 1883

Passages that mention Pulaski, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Peace, performed the duties enjoined upon them by law, and made the following report of their proceedings : The undersigned Commissioners, appointed by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, to locate the seat of justice of Pulaski County, met at the house of John Pearson, in the t…
Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical1883 · page 452Read the page →
Read the text

Peace, performed the duties enjoined upon them by law, and made the following report of their proceedings : The undersigned Commissioners, appointed by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, to locate the seat of justice of Pulaski County, met at the house of John Pearson, in the town of Winamac, on Monday, the 6th day of May, 1839, and after being duly sworn according to law, proceeded as follows, to wit: We have selected the town of Winamac as the seat of justice of Pulaski County, the court house to be on the court house square as designated on the plat of said

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Sec. 5. The circuit court of the county of Pulaski, shall, after the expiration of twelve months from the passage of this act, be held at the county seat of said county, or as near as a convenient house can be had for that purpose, the Friday after the courts are held in White County; and the court…
Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical1883 · page 451Read the page →
Read the text

Sec. 5. The circuit court of the county of Pulaski, shall, after the expiration of twelve months from the passage of this act, be held at the county seat of said county, or as near as a convenient house can be had for that purpose, the Friday after the courts are held in White County; and the courts in Jasper shall be held the Monday after the courts in Pulaski; and said county of Pulaski shall remain attached to the county of White for judicial purposes, until twelve months from the passage of this act. This act to be in force from and after its passage.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Pulaski, 1841 to 1903

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Born hereFrank Baker is born here
  3. 1872Born hereGeorge W. Cross is born here
  4. 1885In the archivePulaski bird's eye
  5. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Born hereAlexander Pirnie is born here
By decade

Pulaski, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s3 items
Pulaski bird's eye1885Pulaski bird's eyePulaski bird's eye21885Pulaski bird's eye2Pulaski, N.Y. 18851885Pulaski, N.Y. 1885
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today13 recent
Fishing on the salmon river2009Fishing on the salmon riverFallen tree2009Fallen treeFallen Trees on salmon river2009Fallen Trees on salmon riverFall fishing on the salmon river2009Fall fishing on the salmon riverFall beauty on the salmon river2009Fall beauty on the salmon riverFall Beauty2009Fall BeautyFall - panoramio (5)2009Fall - panoramio (5)Fall - panoramio (4)2009Fall - panoramio (4)Can you tell how cold it must be on the salmon river2009Can you tell how cold it must be on the salmon riverBridge over salmon river2009Bridge over salmon riverBeauty on the river sunrise2009Beauty on the river sunriseTrout time2006Trout timeFall on the salmon river2006Fall on the salmon river
On the map

Pulaski on the map in 1895

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pulaski.

Pulaski on the 1895 USGS map1895Pulaski sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pulaski.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pulaski bird's eye
Retake this viewPulaski bird's eye, 1885

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pulaski’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 37 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pulaski, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,525

Between 1,493 and 2,525 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pulaski’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Pulaski

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Alexander PirnieAmerican politician · b. 1903
Frank BakerAmerican physician and superintendent of the U.… · b. 1841
G
George W. CrossAmerican politician in Missouri · b. 1872

Questions about Pulaski’s history

What year was Pulaski founded?

The Pulaski post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pulaski rank for history?

Pulaski is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Pulaski?

30% of Pulaski’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1961.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.